


Life but not a Legacy

by 2_Batblade_girl_beyond_2



Category: Sword Art Online
Genre: Family, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-28
Updated: 2015-12-13
Packaged: 2018-03-04 00:28:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 79,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2902733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/2_Batblade_girl_beyond_2/pseuds/2_Batblade_girl_beyond_2
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Each life is someone's legacy, whether they choose to accept it or the opposite. There are only two choices to this predestined fact of life. Follow the design of the previous person; or leave their once marked footsteps behind only to be erased by the low whispers of passing time and start walking on your own. Either way, they both lead a path to a destination of grave uncertainty...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Surprise Part I

**Chapter 1**

**Surprise Part I**

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**(Authors Note) I am sorry for any grammatical and/or spelling errors. Please enjoy and thank you for clicking. =3**  
 *****This is directly from my account from ff.net. (In advance I apologize for any mistakes that were made!)**  
 *****Anon reviews are also greatly welcomed**  

**I do not own «Sword Art Online» just my OC's.**

* * *

 

**Friday, April 04th, 2025 Real World «Dicey Cafe» 7:26 PM**

 

Where could she be? Did she get lost somehow? Is it possible that she might not come at all? No she looks like that person that would never break a promise. I hope she's alright and gets here soon. I really want to Sensei to meet everyone, and I know she wanted to for sure. I can't hold up much longer. These hyperactive thinking belonged to Kirigaya Kazuto or the «The Black Swordsman», from the death game «Sword Art Online». But to his friends that he met the virtual reality he was just «Kirito», a solo player. The high-schooler was lightly tapping his foot while sitting with his back hunched over on a bar stool.

"What's the matter, Kirito-kun, you seem troubled. Is there something bothering you?" The questioning voice belonged to Yuuki Asuna «The Flash» and former sub-leader of «Knights of the Blood Oath». She sat in the bar stool next to his and put her rehabilitation cane in the middle of the two. They both looked up to each other faces but the male quickly turned away frantically shaking his head as beads of sweat began to accumulate on his upper forehead.

Crap, if she reads my eyes enough it may ruin the surprise for her. The latter managed to break a small smile on to his face, "erm... no its just... uhh." Kazuto mumbled with his voice breaking in the middle.

"Are you hiding something from me?" Asuna volume turned slightly higher. If this were a manga the background would been painted in flames, with the female expressing a scary face and towering the chibi-sized and cowardly male looking like he would get stabbed in a second. But before he could answer, his cell phone which was on the wooden counter behind him buzzed indicating he was getting a text from someone. He took the phone and started tapping the small virtual keyboard, smiled a little and put in his left pocket.

"Whew, saved by the buzz." He sighed with relief. "Eh? What was that?" Asuna asked not taking her mind off the situation. "Oh, you'll see." He smirked and walked over to the center of the room. "Hey girls, I need you to do me a favour." In a more brighter voice.

"What is it Onii-chan?" The question was from Kirigaya Suguha, Kazuto's younger cousin who leaves with him and her mother. "Don't worry, I just need you, Silica, Liz and Asuna to stand here, turn your backs and close your eyes without peeking. I have a surprise." The girls all looked at each other oddly as the gathered around each other. Liz stood beside Asuna, and Silica beside Suguha. "Do you know what's going on?" Liz and Silica asked the other two girls. They both nodded 'no' in response.

"This is gonna be great." Kazuto chimed in delight rubbing his palms together in a sort of evil manner.

"Oi, is there a surprise for me too, Kirito?" This time it was a young handsome male from the corner with his drink. The man had a red and yellow bandana around his forehead like he did the game.. "Hey, I already bought you a meal that wasn't cheap." His eyes narrowing to the big bartender behind the counter giving a smug look, polishing a glass with a bar rag. "Don't act like you didn't know that was coming. After all I am running a business." He teased. "Oh come on that was an order for forgiveness, not a surprise. Please?" The katana wielder stated. "Hmm, fine stand over and do what there doing Klein." The teen merciful granted.

"Okay everyone ready?". Kazuto put his hand on the door knob.

"Just hurry up and get on with it. I can't take this any longer." Lizbeth spoke in a raspy tone. And they think I'm restless... Kazuto thought to himself. Then next thing that was heard was a bell and a door open and close in a near instant.

A few whispers were amoung the teenage girls: "I swear if he's not coming back." "Are you sure he hasn't told about this before?" "What could so special about this surprise?" "How much longer do we need to keep closing our eyes for?"

The whispers stopped after the same bell hanging on the door rang. But this time it took two seconds longer for the door to close. The young girls were starting to giggle as their knees began to wobble. They were standing like that for five and a half minutes. "You can turn around now." Kazuto announced. "Finally, now what's the bi-" Silica was cut off when her eyes landed on a woman who was about Asuna's height with neck lenth dark grey hair and dark grey eyes. She was in a simple yellow dress covered with a black denim jacket, the small casual silk crystal blue scarf was nicely tied around her neck like a bow. She was carrying a white medium sized box. This woman was without a doubt a stranger to the beast tamer and the others.

The older woman began to blush as she was being stared at with awe by the younger beautiful student-age females. "Kirito-kun, who is this woman?" Asuna turned to her beloved with a curious look on her face. "Oh, how rude of me." The older female turned to her left and gently layed down the box on the table next to her. She then faced the people in front of her and with a smile she bowed forward "Nice to meet to you. My name is Koujiro Rinko. I hope we could get along comfortably and enjoy a pleasant evening together." With that said she slowly ascended up again.

"Its good to see again, Rinko-Sensei." Kazuto placed his hand on her shoulder. "Its been a while." He continued.

"It has been a little while Kirigaya-kun." Rinko responded playfully ruffling his hair.

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**Hopefully you enjoyed this little chapter. There are currently 34 chapters available for my story on Fanfiction.net. I will try to get the rest of them on this site soon. I hope you all have a good day/evening/night. =3 Please remember that anon reviews are (very) welcomed!**


	2. Surprise Part II

**Chapter 2**

**Surprise Part II**

**Just in case if you wanted, here is a slightly longer chapter. I sincerely apologize for any drawback, I hope you all will understand that. Thank you for taking some time to read my story. Your support is greatly appreciated. Please review if you wish for future chapters. I am sorry for any grammatical or spelling error.**

**I do not own «Sword Art Online», just my OCs.**

* * *

**7:34 PM**

"Sh-sh-she's!" Silica wanted to complete her statement but couldn't mange over her excited tone. The four females faces were turning a bright red as the were nearly being consumed by their uncontrollable giggling. "P-pr-pregnant!" Sugu was able to bring out her vocal chords and the quartet started to regain their composure.

"See, I told you it was gonna make you happy." The only male high schooler laughed.

"Wait a minute. You knew she was pregnant, and we found out  _now_?" Asuna growled stepped in of her boyfriend. If this was in the game she would have a butterknife shine a purple glow and charge at his forehead with great speed, just like she did once before when they had dinner for the first time in «Aincrad».  _Oh shit, she's pissed._  Those words immediately entered his mind as the hair on Kazuto's body began to stand up all at once. "Uh...uh, well...I uh. S-s-ssensei h-h-help mm-me!" The terrified 16-year-old quickly crouched down behind the woman nearly a foot away from him.

"Yuuki... Asuna-san correct?" Rinko asked.

"Yes, Sensei?" Asuna chirpped like a bird on a spring morning.

Rinko smirked after hearing the honorific again. "Please don't be mad at Kirigaya-kun. Yes he kept this from you, but it was a request from me. When we met we started talking and he said, how he had met all of you wonderful people. Then he mentioned most of you were girls, and I... well couldn't resist the temptation... And truth be told, I didn't tell him about my condition until we met face-to-face. He doesn't even know the gender."

The glowing woman put her hand on the younger's head "and it's Rinrin,  _not_ Sensei." She corrected. "I'm not  _that_  old, you know." She chuckled lightly.

"If you don't mind me asking, but how far long are you?" Lizabeth asked trying not to offend the elder's feelings.

"Its alright to ask. I am currently 21 weeks and 5 days." She answered placing her hand on her swollen abdomen. "Your name is... Shino...zaki... Rika." Rinko then pointed to Silica. "I'm certain that your name is... Ay..ano... Keiko." She then shifted her body slightly to the left. "and you are... Kirigaya... Suguha." Hearing this new person say thier names just by guessing correctly made the «Blacksmith», «Beast Tamer» and the «ALO Sylph Warrior» eyes twinkle like stars. "I must say the pictures didn't really do you girls much justice. You're  _all very pretty_." She smiled making the girls cheeks flush red. "And that unconscious man over there... must be..." she pointed to the man with the red bandanna on the floor but lowered her arm at the sight.

"What the?!" Agil came from behind his counter and went to observe what had happened. "Hey how come you didn't come to help me when a was almost attacked?" Kirito added. "I was preparing myself for cleaning the possible blood splatter everywhere," Agil put his ear on Klein's back. "oh he's still breathing. Thank goodness I don't have to fill out the paperwork." Agil said with relief, picking up Klein's body with the help of Kirito and sitting him down at a table. "Does anyone in here have a magic marker?" Kirito joked. "Kirito-kun." Asuna scowled her boyfriend. "Fine, then who has lipstick?" He continued to taunt his fainted friend. "I have some, but it doesn't seem to be his colour." Rika jested.

There was a gagging noise coming from behind, as everyone turned their heads and saw the expectant mother close her eyes tight and covering her mouth with one hand. She put one arm on the table for support, a tear nearly spilled from her left eye. Asuna and Sugu quickly emerged from their standing position and helped her get to the bathroom and closed the door.

"Kirito-san, why is Sensei here with us right now? What she a part of the game as well... but _differently_?" Silica asked him.

"Huh? What do mean by that Keiko?" Rika added sitting down next to her.

"Sensei said that she is right now at 21 weeks and 5 days, and she wouldn't be here if she wasn't involved in it in some way." The lighter brunette began to answer.

"What does her current gestation have to do with the game?" The darker brunette added.

"I checked on my phone and it said that is 152 days in total." The «Dragon Master» continued. "The game was prematurely cleared on November 7th, 2024." That happened only 148 days ago."

"She wasn't player." Rika interjected as the other girl nodded.

"That's correct," Keiko and Rika both turned her heads to Kazuto, he grabbed the seat opposite of his friends. "She does has something to do with it, but she wasn't in the game with us. In a way, she was in a tougher situation then the rest of us..." His hands on the wooden table became fists as he tried to complete his sentence. "The child that she is carrying inside of her is also... the child of Kayaba Akihiko." He left out a hard breathe like a big weight has been carried off his shoulders.

* * *

**7:59 PM**

Rinko walked out the cafe restroom, looking a little pale. Asuna and Suguha came out about three minutes before her and Kazuto told them the truth. She put her head up only to be staring at a cool glass of ginger ale with two ice cubes floating in the coloured liquid, beside it was a small plate of salted soda crackers and a thornless red rose. Looking confused, she turned to the trio of students and noticed someone missing, then a young man from the corner of the bar counter came out.

"I bought those just for you." A little startled she slowly turned around to see his face. The demeanor of his face turned from calm to hesitant in the blink of an eye. His body seemed to froze up as well.

_Here we go again,_ the former solo player sighed shaking his head, elevated himself from his comfortable seat and repeated a past action on the same person.

"Oi, are you lagging? Do I seriously need to punch you again?" He waved his hand around the hopeless romantic's face. After hearing that, the older man somehow snapped out of it.

"My name is Tsuboi Ryoutarou, but my friends call me Klein. I was the leader of the guild «Fuurinkazan» It's nice to meet you Rinko-san." The red head shook her hand lightly. As he finished his greeting he noticed the temperature of the woman's palm was lower than his, Klein rised his other hand and began to rub hers in between both of his. As Rinko realized what he was doing she gently took her hand back and placed in at her side. "I used cold water on face, but I'm fine now..." Klein then layed one hand sideways her forehead, making her blush.

"Sensei, didn't you say have preclampsia? You should be more careful, you were already in bed-rest for three days." Kazuto said like he was a doting parent giving a young child a lecture.

"Oh, Rinrin-san you didn't tell us Aka-chan's gender or anything about yourself." Suguha was trying to change the subject.

"But before that, you should cut the cake." Asuna joined in walking the woman to the seat in front of the cold drink and crackers. Agil came along and placed a stack of small plates with forks and big knife beside the box. Rinko lifted off the top but closed it again. "But I start cutting, would anyone like to place a bet?"

"It's a boy, called it." Klein and Kazuto spoke out in unison. "What about you Agil-san?" Rinko turned to the bartender. "No bet for me thank you, I'm not much of a gambler. Congratulations on your coming joy." Rinko thanked him and then turned to the girls. "We're fine either way, and congratulations." Keiko stood up and gave her the knife.

The woman took a deep breath and opened the box again. The cake was medium and was covered in white fondant. The top was covered in red glazed icing, the words  _Pink or Blue?_ were written in kanji displayed on top. However, pink was written in the colour blue and vice versa. The border was whipped cream frosting with strawberries on the right and blueberries on the left.  _It turned out better than I imagined._  She thought as the steel blade was cutting into the pastry. The first small slice of cake was already on the plate. The layer of frosting between the two tiers of cake revealed that it was indeed a light _blue_.

"Yes, its a boy! Where's the champagne and cigars?" Klein and Kazuto were starting to celebrate.

"Hold on, a minute you two. Look closer." Silica warned them. The two came closer to the table and looked at the colours. "There written in the opposite colours..." Kazuto observed closer than before. "So that means..." Klein and Kazuto looked at each other with beads of sweat started to appear on their foreheads. They both got back up and stepped back a little behind Rinko. "We're sorry!" The two males were on their own knees and hands joined together, there bodies slightly trembling asking for forgiveness. The woman who they were begging began to chuckle "You should have seen your faces. Get up before someone takes a picture." With that said the two sighed with instant relief.

"To late, I already did. Say hello to my new laptop wallpaper." It was Asuna with her cell phone terminal in front of her face.  _I should show Yui this when we get back to her again._ The girl smiled at the thought.

"Hey guys, we should eat the cake before it melts." Suguha requested and they agreed. Kazuto and Klein went back to their bar stools, the five girls managed to fit at one table. "Itadakimasu." They whispered to themselves before entering the cake. "Hey, this isn't half bad." Rika was swallowing her first bite. "Sensei, did you make this?" Silica pondered. "I had some help from a certain someone." Rinko sipped her cold ginger ale. "Oh I have to grab somethings from my car, I'll be right back." She got up and quickly left the building.

"Can you believe in just a few more months there's gonna be a new little girl in our lives?" Sugu nearly sounded like a hyperactive chipmunk. "I know right? I'm so excited!"

Silica screeched. "We should think of nicknames, for when she's born." Rika suggested. "Totally, but we should think of ones that going with her name." Asuna said to her friend. "True, we don't want her to get confused when she's older." Rika took into consideration.

The girls stopped talking when their new 'onee-san' opened the door once again, with a purse hanging on the right shoulder and sat back down at the designated table.

She took out a black leather bound book with a silver pen. "Is that a pregnancy journal?" The light brunette questioned. Rinko nodded, "you see I haven't really had the most smoothest pregnancy. My obstetrician... who is also a dear friend of mine from high school, told me to document whatever I do that involves food, movement or other things." The girls nodded sensibly.

"Uh Rinrin-san, can we please touch her?" Asuna asked quietly almost shy. "She's usually active in the daytime, but I don't see why not." She slowly rose from her seat and stepped sideways and took out a camera from her bag. The younger ones did the same. Asuna slowly and carefully placed her hand on the other woman's abdomen then she delicately pressed her ear on Rinko's dress in awe. The «Blacksmith» whispered the word 'wonderful' and repeated Asuna's actions. Silica was the third one and placed a hand on the Rinko's stomach, "I felt a kick." The «Beast Tamer» exclaimed. "She must be waking up." Rinko patted Silica's head. "She's a bit of a heavy sleeper." Rinko was scribbling in her black book and looking at the time. "Hm, sounds like someone else I know, isn't that right Onii-chan?" Suguha went on her knees. "Don't say things like." Kazuto muttered under his breath. Ignoring him, Suguha lightly pressured her hand on the belly, "what is Aka-chan's name?" The «Sylph Warrior» acensed from her current stance. "Her name is Yumeko... Koujiro Yumeko." Rinko patted Suguha's head.

"Do you guys want to try?" Asuna looked over at the seemingly jealous fellow gamers. "Thanks but I have to prepare for tonight's closing and tomorrow morning's opening." Agil denied the request. Kazuto and Klein's faces lit up as if they had gotten the two toys out of a cereal box. "I'll go first." Klein called out, "In your dreams." Kazuto pulled on the former leader's collar and pulled him back. Klein stepped on his foot. If this was in a manga, there would be a bunch of random arm and leg movements, partially covered by a a dirt cloud.

"Unbelievable. There acting like total morons." Asuna shook her head.

"Its a bromance Asuna-san. There a little different from the female equivalent, expect funnier." Agil explained. Asuna reasonably agreed.

The was laughter coming from behind, it was Rinko. "Oh wow, I can't remember the last time I laughed his much. You guys really made my night." She extended her snickering while wiping a tear from the corner of her right eye this time.

"Rinrin-san do you have a picture of Yumeko-chan?" Silica quietly asked the happy woman. "As a matter of fact I do, but it was taken after I met Kirigaya-kun, so its about ten days old." She reached for her purse and took out a small squared photograph, and showed it in front of the girls, who gasped as they layed their viewpoints on the transparent snapshot.

After their short meaningless tussle, both Klein and Kirito called it a tie. "You go first." Kazuto rolled his eyes and stretched his words. "Thanks pal." Klein patted his buddy's back and got down his his knees before the suspecting Rinko. "Klein-kun, I have to say. The female to male ratio around her has been quite off I'm afraid, and it seems to me that she prefers a feminine touch. I'm not really sure how she's going to react." She informed him. "Its okay if she does, I know she's a good girl." The red head placed his hand on the gestating body and then his ear. "See there's nothing to worry about..." The next he knew Klein entire body jerked and had his hand on his ear. "Wow... that was a hard kick..." he winced. "You're telling me." Rinko cringed. "Yumeko-chan, that was very bad what you did." Rinko waved her index finger looking down at her stomach and wrote into her notebook.

"I know it doesn't seem that way, but she is quite protective you, Rinko-san." Klein laughed off as he stroked her stomach.

"Please tell me someone got that camera." Agil let out a little laugh. Kazuto came up to him trying to hold in his left, "oh bet I did its in HD too."

"Rinrin-san can I have my turn now." Kazuto silently dropped to his knees in front of her placing his left hand and ear on the centre. "She's sounds a little different than the last time I heard her. To be fair it was twelve days ago." _A few more months and she'll be here with us,_ he smiled at the sudden thought.

"Rinrin-san," she felt a tap of her elbow and twisted to Asuna who was holding a folded peice of paper. "These are our email address' and cell phone numbers. If you ever need to talk to someone, we'll be here for you." She folded the paper into Rinko's hand and whispered something into her ear for a couple of moments and pulled away, the older woman nodded.

"Uh, Rinko-san. I hope I am not being to forward but, I was wondering..." Klein's body started to freeze up again this time staring at the same red rose with the small pink ribbon attached to it. "Are you asking me out on a date?" Rinko tilted her head a little bit, like a puppy. "If you are I would love too." Her eyes smiled. "You may have a face of a thug, but you are quite a wonderful person, and may I add a very soft heart." Hearing those nice things made him blush. "Thank you very much and I'm free on Sunday." His face was turning red. "That's good, I'll pick you up at 11 am. Here's my phone number." He handed her a small slip of paper.

"I'll be waiting." She winked playfully and looked at the time on her phone. "Oh no look at the time. I promised I would be back by 10." She took her purse and made her way to the cafe door but turned around. "It was very nice to meet all of you, I hope we can do this again sometime." She bowed her head, smiled and left.

"What just happened?" Klein blinked in confusion.

"Klein's got a girlfriend. Na naa naa naa naa!" The rest of cafe's dwellers sang.

"Oh grow up." Klein muttered , blushing a little.

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**So what do you guys think about this story so far? In the anime and light novels, I wanted Klein to have a girlfriend. Why not, he is a great character (and may I add attractive, lol ). So when I got up to a certain point in the novel, I decided to make this story. Once again, thank you for reading this story. I hope you all have a good morning/evening/night. Please review if you want to read some more!Thank you for supporting me! =3**

 


	3. Date

**Chapter III**

**Date**

**I do not own «Sword Art Online», just my OC's. © All rights reversed to Dengeki Bunko and Reki Kawahara. Apologizes for any spelling and grammatical errors and/or missing words.**

*****This was from my ff.net account!**

* * *

_**Sunday April 06, 2025 «Rinko's Apartment Building» 11:00 a.m.** _

Klein rang the doorbell. A moment later, he heard a lock reset and the door sqeauk while opening eidley. In the doorway was a middle-school aged boy with an expressionless face. "Are you hear for Rinrin-Oba-san?" He asked vaguely. Klein nodded and entered into the apartment. He heard the door shut behind him.

"Oba-san is still getting ready, please sit down. Would you like to drink something while you wait." The red head turned around to the young boy. He had yellow/blonde hair to his ears and brown eyes to match. "No thanks." He replied taking a seat on the green sofa. Rinko had mentioned she lives with two other people people; a very close high school friend and her son, when he had 'overheard' the girls' conversation the night they had all met, courtesy of Kazuto.

"I'm guessing that those flowers aren't for me." The boy's eyes lowered to Klein's right hand. "She might take some more time. I should put these in a vase before they die of thirst until then." Klein reasonbly nodded and handed the bouquet over to him.

"Oba-san said that she had a nice time at the cafe that night." The middle-schooler then bowed in front of Klein. "Thank you for taking care of her. She was happy when she came back, she even told us that she almost started to cried because she was laughing a lot. She wouldn't tell you or anyone else this but she's been a bit down lately." The blonde haired one stood up from his current stance. "My name is Nakamura Takato, I am 12 years old and a first-year at middle school. It's nice to meet you." He greeted but his tone hasn't changed.

"I'm Tsuboi Ryoutarou. My friends call me Klein, you can call me that to if you want. You don't have to be so formal around me." Klein pulled his hand and Takato shook it. "I'll think about calling you that."

"I see that you're still in your pajamas, Takato-kun." A female silhouette came from the small hallway followed by heavy footsteps and appeared into the light. She was wearing a dark blue teagan blouse and black maternight skinny jeans and matching black beribboned ballet flats with light grey liner socks. The sight of her made Klein's forehead sweat a little bit.

"I see that you had to make your date _wait five mintues after he got here_." He raised his left eyebrow.

"My alarm didn't go off..." Rinko trying to make an excuse.

"I guess after 7 times it decided to end it all unplug itself. The poor clock could only do so much." Takato tsked and turned around into the kitchen and got a bowl and a cereal box. Klein's face looked like he had unwittingly entered some kind of warzone, or at least a women's shoe sale at the mall. Inside a manga there would be lightning bolts over their heads while their eyes are set focused on the oppontents faces as liek they were given psychic powers.

Rinko smirked, she heard the home phone rang and answered it. "Hello?...Yes, this is she... I see... Thank you very much and have a nice day." She turned it off and put it back down on the phone carrier and sighed.

"What's the matter?" Klein asked hoping it wasn't too serious.

"Its my ultrasound that was scheduled for next week." Rinko began to answer. "They had it rescheduled for today for 12:30 p.m. They said there was a mix up of some sort." She shook her head over the situation that was decided a by third party.

"I see. That doesn't have to be a problem, we could make it apart of our day together. It'll be nice." Klein got from his seat and put his hand on her head.

"Your not upset that we may have to spend most of our day at a hospital?" Rinko asked in a somewhat surprise manner.

"Nah, at least I get to have a more updated picture before the girls do. More importantly its about your health. Isn't that right, Yumeko-chan?" Klein placed his hand on the swollen stomach.

"Speaking of going to the hospital. Can you give his to Mom? She forgot it." Hiro gave the bento lunch box he had made.

Rinko grabbed her hand bag as she was stepping out the door with Klein.

"Have nice day oba-san, 'Meko-chan and Tsuboi-san." He said with a slightly warmer tone and closed the door behind them.

* * *

_**11:07 a.m.** _

Rinko was in the front passenger seat while Klein was behind the steering wheel.

"I know he may seem unemotional at times but he's a good kid, he's just a little uncomfortable around strangers." Rinko was looking out at the window.

"I know this restaurant where you could get a nice breakfast from, you want to go try it out?" Klein suggested not taking his eyes off the road.

"Sure why not? I'm not supposed to go to an ultrasound on an empty stomach." She concurred.

"You know for a pregnant lady, you sure are calm." Klein bit his lips as he realized what he said but to his unfortunate choice of verbal communication the light was still at red.

"I'm always calm in public or in a moving car." She blandly spoke to him unamused.

The traffic signal than turned from red to green. _Oh thank, heaven_ the words came to Klein's mind.

In about five to six mintues time they had reached the suggested eating area. He opened the door twice for her; both the car and the building.

_This place doesn't seem too bad._ Rinko thought as she was standing in the front with her date.

"You might feel more comfortable near a window right?" Rinko nodded at the question and then walked to a table. She pulled out her own chair after stopping Klein from doing so. "I might be expecting but I'm not helpless." She reminded him. The two sat down and looked through the menu a waiter came and gave them glasses of water.

"You could eat as much as you like. Its no trouble at all." The red head smiled lightly.

"Are you calling me fat?" She hissed like a snake about to strike its prey.

"N-no of course not. I just don't want you to feel uncomfortable." His palms were starting to sweat again.

"I'm sorry... its just that...that ... I'm just a little nervous." She frowned a little bit and lowered her eyes. She had a reason to be, as for the last time she had an ultrasound she was diagnosed with her condiction. Once it had gotten so bad she was on strict bed-rest for a three day time frame. She had always been independant frm a young age.

"At least you have some moral support this time." He smiled again and the woman nodded and sighed. She put the menu back up to her face, "what do you want to eat?"

Soon enough a waiter came over to take their food order.

* * *

_**12:20 pm «Hospital»** _

_Just 10 more mintues left until my turn. Where is Namie? Is she even here today? Should I call or text her? No she's my doctor. Is there something wrong? Wait a minute, was this 'mix-up' planned by her? Did she find something else wrong with me?_ Rinko shut her eyes tight as her thoughts kept swirling in her mind. Her body sinking deeper into the her seat. She opened her eyes as a soft pressure on her closed left fist.

"I don't think she likes your thoughts right now." She looked to her left side so she could see his calm, gentle face.

"He's right you know." They turned their heads to see a young woman wearing pink scrubs, white shoes and a golden name tag. Her brown eyes were fixed on a smiling Rinko. Takato said you'd be here." The long dark green haired woman sat beside

her friend. "I'm on break right now. So do you have my lunch for me?" the nurse playfully asked.

"Same old Fuko. Prepared for anything that comes after her but manages to forget herself at the same time." Rinko shook her head and handed her the box from her purse. "They could take me to any restuarant, but they simply cannot be compared to my son." Fuko took the bento and chopsticks and placed it on her lap. "I bet the cake he helped with was good." The nurse smiled proudly.

"Trust me it was." A male voice interjected between the women's conversation.

"I'm sorry, I'm being rude." The apologetic woman, stood up and bowed. "I am Nakamura Fuko. Thank you for taking care of her and bringing her here." Klein lowered his head and chest. "Tsuboi Ryotarou. My friends call me Klein. Nice to meet you." Fuko nodded at his greeting and sat back down.

"I can't believe he's middle middle school now. He grew up so fast, I didn't even realize it." The nurse sighed wondering how fast time skated by like a summer breeze and placed her hand on Rinko's swollen stomach.

"Pretty soon you'll be in middle school too. Isn't that right 'Meko-chan?" The women felt a little movement. "I bet the boys will be all over her when she's in school." Rinko blushed at the comment and Fuko chuckled lightly.

"Don't joke about that." Klein spatted out in a second.

"Hit a soft spot did I? Fuko looked over to him and smirked.

"You aren't allowed to date until your 30." Klein wagged his finger at Rinko's inflated adomin.

"I don't know, Koko was quite popular with the boys in middle school _and_ high school." Fuko a playful grinned, the not-so-little detail made Klein's right eye twitch.

"Don't you have a lunch to eat?" Rinko interupted the conversation that could end with having Klein a heart attack.

"There you are, sorry I'm late there was a big line at the coffee machine." Another soft feminine tone came along.

The slender figure's red buttoned blouse, long pink shirt were covered in a long white (badass) coat, her noticeably silky blue hair was wrapped in a bun.

"Well if it isn't the third musketeer?" Rinko's face lit up as she and the other woman stood up to hug their friend.

"It's been a long time since we've been together, Namie." Fuko hugged the doctor.

"Takato is in middle school now isn't he? He grew up so fast." The doctor adjusted her grey glasses, "he's turning 13 next month, I can't believe it myself." Fuko's eyes looked like tears was forming in her eyes. "And pretty soon, Yumeko-chan will be." Rinko's began to sinffle as her eyes were started to well up.

"Does anyone need tissues." Klein's arm made way in between the weeping threesome and looked at Namie and lowered his head and said his name. "Namie Orihana." she bowed and thanked him.

"Now, now, we have a job to do right now. Lets all enter the examination room." Namie regained her composure and took Rinko and Klein and said goodbye to Fuko.

* * *

_**2:58 p.m.** _

"Alright I got the new results back." Namie entered and sat at her desk.

"Your results are a little better that they were two weeks ago, when you were diagnosed." She continued to go through the file comparing the results.

"It seems that your blood pressure is still high. Your heart and lungs are fine. You are still vomiting a lot, lost sudden weight and have those serious headaches and visual disturbances." Namie closed the file and looked at her friend.

"I'll get you another urine and blood test once I get the other results back. Keep taking those anti-nausea pills 3 times a day. If anything else happens to you, don't hesitate to come back. Everything will be okay, Koko." The enormity centered in the doctor's eyes was starting to make the abundant woman worry once more about the exact sureness of her health. All Rinko did was nod as she fingers turned white, latching on to the brand-new ultrasound image. She had gotten up and left the office, after saying goodbye and making another appointment.

* * *

_**3:02 p.m.** _

"The girls might kill me if they found out I have more recent picture then the one you e-mailed them." Klein pointed out as they were exiting the hospital parking lot.

"I'm gonna send the new one to them once I get back home." She spoke but kept her sight outside the window looking at the passing buildings and trees.

"Where are we going now?" She noticed as the car was moving in an unexpected direction.

"I thought we could both rent a movie and grab and pizza while were still out. You looked a little sad after you walked out of Namie-sensei's office. So when you went to the bathroom, I talked to Fuko-san again and she told me a bunch of your favourite films and snacks. She also said she might come home late so don't stay up waiting too long." Klein pulled up at a large public building.

"You rent movies from a library? Isn't that a little outdated?" Rinko looked out to the metropolitan structure.

"Says the woman how still uses the ancient method of rubbing ink onto dead trees." Klein flicked the switch the driver's side to unlock the doors.

* * *

_**3:42 p.m.** _

"I forgot what it like to be in actual library. I used to go to the one by my house a lot growing up. Now I just watch tv and films satellite cable, play vintage video games, lie in bed for an uncomfortable amount of time, vomit and take medicine." Rinko went on and on like child who had just came back home from a fairground.

_"Nice to see her smile again."_ Klein thought as he was slowly backing up of the lot.

* * *

_**6:01 p.m. «Klein's apartment»** _

After managing getting the snacks, pizza and drinks to go along with their chosen film the couple finally got to Klein's apartment.

"That damn rush hour traffic took an hour to settle down," Klein grumpled "at least the pizza is lukewarm."

"This is a nice apartment. You've done nicely for yourself." Rinko complimented as she was taking off her flat shoes. _I hope the swelling won't cause too much of a problem._ She thought silently.

"I had a little bit of help from a couple of friends." Klein placed two small plate each with a slice, two salad bowls and drinks.

The woman thanked him grabbed a plastic bottle from her purse and took out a pill.

The two had started eating, but after finishing her first slice, Rinko started to walk to the bathroom and stayed inside for two and half minutes with nothing happening. _Thank goodness a false alarm,_ she sighed in relief but the anxiety still lingered inside her sense. _Still, why am I so scared?_

* * *

**Thank you for reading! =3 Leave a review if you want!**


	4. Girls' Day Out

**Chapter 4:**

**Girls' Day Out**

**I do not own «Sword Art Online» just my OC's. © All rights belong to Dengeki Bunko and Reki Kawahara.  This is from my account on fanfiction.net!**

* * *

**Sunday April, 20th 2025 «Tokyo Train Station» 12:31 p.m.**

"We're finally here. Now we just have to wait for Rinrin-onee-san to come pick us up." Keiko hopped off the train with Rika, Asuna and Suguha behind her.

"I texted her a couple minutes ago. She said she'll be here in about 10 to 15 minutes." Rika stretched her arms and legs.

"I hope she's alright, last night I thought she was about to cancel on us again." Suguha had a worried look on her face.

"Yeah, you could just tell how bad she felt when she called us last week." Asuna was fixing her the collar of her light pink spring jacket.

"The fact that she called all of us individually, instead of sending a mass text alone, says something." Keiko sighed sounding worried.

"She was all I could think about last night. I got scared when she told us that she had to go to the hospital on Wednesday. It seems that her condition keeps getting worse everyday. But nothing happened the past couple of days." Rika sighed with some relief.

"She sounded like she was going to cry that day." Keiko sat down with the others on a nearby bench.

"You know we all haven't really decided on a nickname for Yumeko-chan yet." Asuna pointed out trying to cheer up her fellow comrades. "I mean we have to do better job than calling her Aka-chan, she's gonna grow up eventually." The rest of the group nodded as small smiles appeared on their faces.

"Onee-san said that Yumeko-chan has a meaningful name. **[1]** It only makes sense to give her a meaningful nickname to go along with." Suguha brought up.

"I forgot about that part." Keiko tapped her chin with her index finger thinking.

"I think we should choose one that isn't all that different from her real name." Asuna put into consideration.

"True, if we do that, than finding one for her won't be that difficult." Rika began swinging her legs playfully hoping an idea would come in her mind.

"Hey since were going to Akihabara, why not get some stuff for her baby shower?" Suguha suggested looking at her phone.

"I don't see a problem with that. We just have to be extra careful." Asuna agreed while the other two happily nodded.

"Good afternoon everybody. Such nice weather we're having this fine day." A young woman walked up to them making the girls' faces lit up with excitement.

"Onee-san you made it." They squeaked in delight hugging her.

"You look lovely today." They said in unison and bowed to her.

"Say what ever you want I still feel like a swallowed a dango plushie." She smiled.

"Since all for of you are here I'm assuming that you have met my essential academic requirement." Rinko patted each of them on the back. The vital precondition was that each girl was to finish their homework prior to making the long-awaited trip.

"We met up at a library and helped each other. We even took pictures as evidence." Keiko showed her phone to Rinko, scrolling through a few images before putting the device back in her pocket.

"I used to procrastinate in middle school. My mom thought I was hiding something." Suguha chuckled.

"How are your hands and feet feeling today?" Rika was trying her best not to show any any concern in her face.

"The icing brought it down a little. Tell your mother I thank her for the tip." She replied she and gently rubbed the darker brunette's head. She removed her hand placed on her lower back with a silent moan.

"We should get into your car before your back starts to act up." Asuna took Rinko's hand bag.

"I call shotgun." Keiko gave out a giggle as the rest awed in an uncalled for defeat.

* * *

**«In the car» 12:40 p.m.**

"I can't wait to get to the spa. I haven't been to one without my mother before." Suguha called out from the backseat.

"I went with my cousin once. We had so much fun, we even went to go see a movie afterwards." Keiko turned her head to the backseat.

"Hey Asuna, did confirm our the appointment before you left home?" Rika poked her friend's shoulder.

"I didn't need too. Once I made they practically got rid of the other reservations. It turns out my family has some kind of business with them." The girl in the middle backseat explained.

"Must be nice coming from a rich family." Suguha speculated coming from a smaller family unit.

"I'll admit, it does have some perks." The orange-brunette chuckled.

A few streets signs pass by on the road before the vehicle came to a halt.

* * *

 

**«Inside the spa» 1:15 p.m.**

The five females were seated as soon as they entered. "This feels great. I love mani-pedis'. Its feels like you have new feet and hands when they're done." Suguha sank deeper into her chair as her feet were being soaked in the small tub.

"Expect you never used to the heavy scent of nail polish and remover." Rinko said in a relaxed tone.

"Onee-san there's something we want to ask you." Asuna began asking her question. "You told us that Yumeko-chan has a meaningful name." Rinko looked over to the curious young face. "What exactly did you mean by that?"

"I know this sounds selfish, but I have always wanted a daughter. My family has a tradition where whenever a female child is born we end her name with ko. **[2]** She explained.

"Yumeko-chan is a lovely name, onee-san." Asuna lowered her sight on the gestating stomach.

"My family has a similar one based on the periodic table, due to my grandfather being a chemist." Keiko felt a hand press on her head. "How coincidental that you both your names are similar." Rinko patted her head.

"You know onee-san, we you sent me that photo last time. I thought she looked more like a Yumemi-chan." **[3]** The voice came from the girl in the middle.

"That sounds like a good name possible nickname Suguha-chan." Asuna complimented the «ALO» player.

"Oh I didn't think of it. Onii-chan did. After he called her an alien." The black-haired girl explained.

"He called her what!" Asuna gasped her expression turning to anger like her hair was about to turn into flames.

"Don't worry when he said that I used him as a practice dummy with my shinai. But what he really meant was that she looks like a cute alien. Heh heh, after all who said all aliens are ugly. You know how he is sometimes." Suguha tried to correct her little slip of the tongue.

Upon hearing this, the former «KoB» vice-commander's demanor cooled down turing into her regular self. "Yeah that does sound like something he would say. He can be so careless at times it's amazing. He's just lucky that I wasn't there to give him an earful." She shook her head in annoyance. "But it is nice to know that he's taking an interest in her. That is a good petname. I wish I thought of that earlier." She added in a smiling way.

_Whenever I think of all the things we're going to do with Yumeko-chan. I feel that something bad is going to happen?Something ... something... scary... will happen? When will it come and...f-for how long? Why can't I shake this feeling out of my mind?_ The uncomfortable thoughts begin to race in Asuna's head like a go-kart on a track.

"Is something wrong?" Asuna's eyes came into submission when she noticed a hand waving in front of her face.

"You know daydreaming is a bad habit." Rika teased still waving her hand.

"Eh? What are you talking about?" Asuna looked like a lost puppy. "Nevermind about that." The «blacksmith» hand was placed on her lap. Asuna turned her head to her left side. "Eh? Where did onee-san go?"

"She went to the bathroom. Wow, you must have been pretty out of it too not notice." The «dragon tamer» responded.

"Do you guys think something _bad_ might happen, but not sure exactly _what_ or _when_?" Asuna directly asked the trio with concern and doubt filling her eyes. The girls knew what she was talking about, its been on their minds for a while now.

"As of right now, the only bad thing that could happen right now is rain." Suguha tried to cheer up Asuna. Keiko pressed the orange brunette's hand. "Imagine rain on a beautiful day like today." Rika joined in to help the other two. "You know when we become aunts we have to be careful about the things we say."

Seeing the smile made the orange-brunette's tension decrease. "Onee-san will be a great mother." Rika stretched her back in her leather chair. "Anyone who's willing to go through this much illness really has a loving heart. If she's this strong I can't imagine how strong Yumeko-chan will be." They rest nodded in agreement.

"It's funny how its only been a full month and we already gave Rinko-san three nicknames but only gave her daughter one." Keiko frowned a little at her own fact.

"Some future aunts we are." Rika sighed like she was admitting defeat.

"What kind of future aunts do you think you're going to be?" The question came from a wobbling woman with an inflated stomach.

"The kind that can't figure out a nickname for their own niece." Rika pouted.

"I'm sure you'll think of one in time." Rinko sat back down and place her feet back in the small tub.

"Kirigaya-kun thought of a good one though." She unfairly teased the high school girls.

"That was only because he was getting hit with a big stick." Suguha pouted at the smirking woman.

* * *

**2.50 p.m.**

"Glad that's over with." Keiko muttered and moved her stiffened legs after paying her share of the bill.

"So where should we go eat?" She made her way to the front passenger seat.

"We should let onee-san choose." Rika turned to the woman wearing blue sunglasses.

"I was thinking a maid café." The driver turned around to see for any oncoming traffic before reversing. The fellow girls nodded in agreement.

* * *

**3:20 p.m. «Maid Café»**

"We better eat quick if we want to shop til we drop." Rika pulled her hamburger to her face.

"Someone sure loves shopping." Rinko said blowing into her soup.

"So how did you find this place?" Asuna sipped into her milkshake.

"Klein-san took me her on... our date," Rinko blushed as an 'ooo' sound came from the rest of the party. "He said he wanted me to be comfortable, because I was... nervous."

A moment of silent came along before Suguha playfully nudged the adult. "Say onee-san, you didn't really said anything about her little date. Unlike Klein-san was to onii-chan and Agil-san." Hearing that made the woman's face turned a light red as the girls giggled. "Like I said before we had a good time and he took good care of me."

"So how _long_ were you two out?" Asuna was trying to get more details.

"He picked me up and 11 and dropped me off at 8." Rinko was already halfway into her salad.

"9 hours is a long time to be out in your health." Rika sipped into her soda trying not to look too concerned.

"Well we got stuck at the hospital and traffic as well." She explained further.

"Well I'm done. Who else wants some dessert?" Rika wiped her mouth with a napkin.

"Weren't you just in a hurry to leave?" Keiko bit her lip after Suguha lightly kicked her foot under the table.

"Oh I forgot about those..." Rinko quickly rampaged in her purse and took out a plastic container sealed with an air tight red lid. "Would you like one?" She asked as she pulled out a cookie. "Did Takato-kun make them?" Rika's mouth began to water remembering the cake from that night. Rinko nodded and passed it to her.

"Itadakimasu." Rika humbly bit into her cookie. "It's oatmeal chocolate chip with walnuts." She swallowed her first the soft dessert as it melted in her mouth. "You guys should have one. They're delicious." She finished her treat after three more bites. _Looks like I have some competition_ Asuna thought to herself biting into hers. "This is _so good_." Keiko and Suguha said in between bites. "Don't talk with your mouths full, its very rude." Rinko looked a little red after she realized what she had just said to them.

"Okay we should get going before the stores get even more crowded." Rinko clapped her hands and got up from her seat.

* * *

**4:47 p.m. «Inside a store»**

"Okay, here's the plan. We try to buy enough things for the party as fast we can. Onee-san said she'll be back from the grocery store in less than 20 minutes." Asuna whispered to the huddled girls and departed. If she thought being in the strongest guild in «Aincrad» was difficult then she had never really took part in _this_ type of party before.

The gang managed to obtain the party supplies before Rinko found them. "What's wrong you look like your hiding something." They instantly shook their heads. "It's just we... needed things for...school." Sugu stammered. "You know how high school was, you could never have enough supplies." She tried to laugh off. "Lets go to another store and buy some real fun stuff." Asuna hurried to the exist.

* * *

**5:25 p.m. «2nd store»**

This time they would make sure that they could actually buy a gift instead of boring party favours. Small blue boxes on a shelf under an attractive sign. "Recordant..." Asuna began to read the small print. "A heart-shaped pendant that can record any message 8 minutes or less." She stopped and went to got tell her friends.

"It's a new product and it looks like everyone wants one. And the price tag doesn't seem to be going down any time soon." Asuna glared at the shelf again.

"Onee-san said she's going over here letter right now. It could be more sentimental if recorded it." Suguha added.

Without any argument they each took out some cash with leaving themselves enough to take them back home.

Sugu decided to keep the secret and hid the gift in her party favours bag.

Rinko was patiently sitting in the car tapping of her on touch screen phone waiting for the girls to return. As she noticed the familiar silhouettes she unlocked the doors. "Do you girls even to how to shop." Rinko saw only 2 small bags in each girl's hand, looking a bit suspicious.

"Erm- its because the spa, the food and school stuff, were a little pricey." Keiko explained looking a bit nervous. "She's right and not to mention train ticket prices these days." Sugu bit her lip.

"I wish I could take you somewhere else but you can't afford to miss your train." Rinko sighed looking a little guilty.

"Its okay, the spa just took a little longer and the resturant was a little busy." Asuna ruffled the bag in her hand. _I wasn't this nervous in the guild, why the hell now?_ She let out a small yawn.

"Your train won't be here until 6:45. Do you want to take a little drive?" Rinko pulled the car in reverse.

"Yeah, we should visit that shrine, before leaving." Keiko replied.

"Then you can just drop us at the station when were done." Rika spoke softly.

"As you wish, it's your day after all." The driver smiled lightly.

* * *

**6:15 p.m. «Train Station»**

"If it wasn't a school night, we could have had some _real_ fun." Rinko frowned a little.

"It's alright. We can do that next time, at least we went to a temple. Besides there's always summer break." Suguha touched the scientist's hand. "Maybe even a nice picnic." Keiko leaned a little closer. "I'll make my special sandwiches." Asuna moved in a little closer. "I'll bring napkins, plates and other utensils." Rika chirped with delight.

With that said the girls wrapped their arms around Rinko. "We love you, onee-san."

"I love you, too." Rinko snuggled in between.

The students slowly pulled away and bowed respectfully.

"We love you too, Yumeko-chan. We can't wait to meet you." They softly spoke in unison to the swollen abdomen.

_Neither can I my lovely Yuyu._ A small tear trickled down the right side Rinko's face after the thought.

"It's a terrible thing to see a mother cry." Asuna gave her a leftover napkin.

"Thank you for today. Take care yourself." They waved at the departing woman.

* * *

**[1]** Yumeko means "dream child", "little dream" or "dream girl"

**[2]** The suffex _-ko_ is common ending for a female name meaning "child" or "girl"

**[3]** Yumemi means "dream beauty."

**Thanks for reading this chapter! =3 I hope you liked it!**


	5. A Mother's Strength

**Chapter 5:**

**A Mother's Strength**

**Disclaimer: don't own «Sword Art Online», just my OC's. All rights reverse to Dengeki Bunko and Reki Kawahara. This was from my ff.net account!**

* * *

_**Friday May 2nd, 2025 «Dice Café» 4:30 p.m.** _

"We can finally have our party." Rika cheered after she got off the ladder to hang the pink streamers.

"Yeah thank God...we made it...in time...or else..." Keiko stopped talking after feeling light-headed from her balloon blowing activity.

"Here I'll take some." Keiko turned to Suguha.

"I hope this kendo breathing helps with balloons." Keiko teased.

"It was awesome that got blue ones, and writing and a pink marker. Thanks for the tip Kirito-kun." Asuna happily smiled at her boyfriend at the bar counter. She was taking care of a big table covered were colourfully wrapped boxes with a pink teddy bear sitting on the top. There was a chocolate cake with strawberries and whipped cream.

"Hey shouldn't Onee-san and Klein by here now?" Rika looked at her watch.

"I'm calling him right now." Kazuto took out his phone and started tapping the screen.

"Hey Klein, when are you and Onee-Sensei...What? I can't...calm down. Where are you? Okay...gotcha." Kazuto hanged up his phone. His body was starting to tremble.  _Why now? Why the fuck now?_  He gritted his teeth. His face was a mixture of terrified, anger, worried and disbelief. He felt all of his body stand up. His hands changed to shaking fists.

"Kirito-kun, what happened?" Asuna's worried tone made Kazuto flinched and cringe once more.

He turned his body but made to upper eye contact. "Onee-Sensei...is...is..."

The boy felt a strong hand against his shoulder and looked at the big bartender behind the wooden counter.

Kazuto still looking down, slowly inhaled and exhaled and began to move his lips, trying to blink away his tears. "Onee-Sensei is in...labour."

A moment of silence passed in the lovely decorated café.

Rising his head he looked at the expressions on his female comrades' faces'. All four of their excited faces turned into worried, upset and confused, with dilated eyes.

Rika raised her hands to her face and looked like was going to fall.

Keiko nodded her head in disbelief and took a small step back.

Asuna just stood with fists at thier side looking at the floor.

Suguha covered her mouth with trembling hands. "Onii-chan...where are...they?" Her scared, confused voice broke the very silence of the room.

* * *

_**«Tokyo General Hospital» 5:25p.m.** _

A woman helplessly scared out of mind lays on a gel bed wearing a hospital gown looking at a monitor with a moving, beeping lifeline, while holding the hand of a younger man in a cheap red bandanna with yellow stripes. "Ryo, I'm...I'm..." She tried to talk but her tears wouldn't let her. Klein gently stroked her face erasing the droplets of salty water.

There were two other women present in the hospital room. One woman had long dark green hair running passed her shoulders wearing a pink hat and nurse's uniform. The other one had in dark blue hair wrapped in bun, wearing a long white lab-coat.

"I managed to pull a few strings and got Fuko to be with you in case of a surgery." The doctor, Namie told the woman lying down on the bed in front of her.

"Everything will be alright. We promise, Rinrin." The surgical nurse took the cold hand of sweating woman.

A moment later, the sound of an electronic door slid open sideways, came rushing were five teenagers. Only four of them were wearing the same uniform. Each one of them had a very concerned look.

"You must be the students Koko's been telling us about. I'm very sorry but you have to wait outside until we get some news. I'll escort you out for now." Fuko led the bunch outside in the hallway.

"Rinrin-Onee-san is still in her 2nd trimester." Asuna said in a quiet voice.

"25 weeks and 5 days." Fuko laid her soft hand on the strawberry blonde's shoulder.

"Does this mean Yumeko-chan will be a micro-preemie?" Keiko whispered in fear.

The beautiful nurse nodded slowly to the statement. "You know, when she started seeing you. She's been really happy. I am very grateful to all of you for making her feel that way." She respectfully bowed to the group.

"If you need to thank someone, you should thank Onii-chan. He's the reason why we got to meet her." Suguha smiled at her cousin.

Namie came out of the room. The teenagers huddled around her hoping for some news. The doctor took a swift step back and sighed. "The next several hours may get critical. Right now, we are monitoring the fetal heart rate. Last time we checked her contractions were 40 minutes apart. This could go on overnight I'm afraid." Her words were stable but her eyes were scared.

"If something happens we may have to do an emergency c-section." She concluded leaving the people in front of her speechless.

"If you have permission, I can get some blankets and coffee." Fuko offered the group.

Within a moment's notice, a 2nd nurse with came out of the same room. "Sensei, the fetal heart rate is declining."

Namie flinched and turned her body to the second nurse at the door. "Alright prepare the patient for surgery." The doctor turned to the woman standing next to her. "Fuko come with me to the ER."

"Sensei, please help them  _both_." Kazuto eye's were welling up bit.

Namie rubbed his head. "We'll do our best. This isn't my first time you know." She whispered. Both adults left within a blink of an eye.

* * *

_**6:30 p.m.** _

Klein came out of the room. His face was filled in disbelief. It was similar to the one he showed on the first day of «SAO».  _This...is for real. I don't believe it._  His thought swirled around his mind.

He went over to his friends and sat down with them.

"Klein..." Kazuto moved his chair a little closer. The older gamer's gritted his teeth. Kazuto had seen this expression twice before. It was the time foolishly decided to solo kill «Nicholas the Renegade» to get the «rumored revival item». The other time was when he took «Heathcliff's» request.

"I love them." Klein murmured.

"I don't know much about love, but I know that Onee-Sensei really enjoys having you in her life. In fact, whenever she comes in contact. You're her go-to topic." The raven haired student patted his loyal friend's back.

Namie returned with her blue hair-bun under a cap. "We'll be starting shortly. Koko is getting two epidurals and going to the ER as we speak. She'll be under the affect for a while after her stitching. She said that she wants Klein-san to be with her."

She informed the group of six.

"Sensei, please be careful. They're both special to us." The girls and Kazuto chorused in unison, bowing respectfully. The woman in blue scrubs nodded deeply. She and Klein both left the waiting area.

Fuko came back with a folded piece of paper. "Koko wants you to read this." The nurse gave the note to Rika. "The surgery will take about an hour. If you need a snack, there is a set of vending machines down both hallway ends." She instructed before leaving again. The teens surrounded Rika as she unfolded the paper:

_When you go home please thank your mother's for me._

_Thanks to them my daughter has beautiful and strong_

_young women to look up too._

_I will always be grateful for that._

A silent moment passed as they all joined hands and lowered their heads together, solemnly looking at the floor.

_*MONTAGE*_

_"Do you think I'll be a good mother?"_

_"When she finds out about what I've done in the past. Do you think she'll forgive me?"_

_"This whole letter thing isn't as easy as I thought it it would be."_

_"I wonder how our relationship will be like when she she older."_

_"I'm scared that I might do something wrong with my parenting."_

_*MONTAGE END*_

* * *

**Thank you very much for reading!** **Sorry if there any sloppy grammar or spelling mistakes! Anon comments are welcomed as well!**


	6. A Message from the Heart

**Chapter 6:**

_**A Mother's Strength Part 2** _

_**A Message from the Heart** _

**I do not own «Sword Art Online» just my OC's. All right belong to Dengeki Bunko and Reki Kawahara. This is from my ff.net account!**

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_**May 2nd, 9:00 p.m.** _

Rinko slowly opened her eyes to a blurry ceiling. Her eyes quickly came in to focus. Her back was numb, laying on the same gel bed from before. Her left has had an IV placement inserted.

She looked to her left and right and saw 4 girls sleeping in their uniforms, slouched on chairs and covered their upper bodies in green blankets. Asuna and Keiko were next to her arms on opposite sides. Rika and Suguha were at her feet on opposite sides as well.

Asuna eyes fluttered opened and gave a short yawn.

"Girls..." The woman groaned.

"Onee-san, you're awake. We're so glad." Asuna announced and one by one the other woke up.

"Onee-san, would look like some help sitting up?" Keiko kindly offered.

Rinko nodded looking at the ceiling and then to her left hand that was hooked up at a monitor.

"How long out I knocked out for?" She asked in a tired voice as they all joined to help her sit up. Rinko hissed at the searing pain of the scar on her stomach.

"Your surgery lasted for an hour. You came out at 7:45 p.m." Suguha explained.

"I'm sorry." Rinko lowered her head in shame as tears poured out. "I'm sorry. I failed everyone. I'm sorry. I'm a failure." Rinko let out a horrible cry and shaking head. She pulled on her dark grey hair tightly. "It's my fault, it's my fault. I regret what I did that day. Why is the child paying for the sins of her mother?" Her hands started to shake.

Asuna slowly took Rinko's hands and placed it within hers. " _No, you're not._ You are a wonderful mother." The strawberry blonde began to speak. "You went through an illness so you could protect her for one more day _inside of you._ You helped create a world that brought all of us together. You were apart of the reason why we are all strong and brave today. Before that day, I felt _lonely, stressed and unhappy_. And today, you gave birth to an amazing person. You are _not_ a failure. You are human and you made a mistake. We love you _very_ much, and now you have given us another reason to love you even _more_. That is why you are _not a friend, but a sister_."

The hazel-eyed beauty folded her hand into Rinko's.

"We are going to stand by you and _our_ baby." Rika sat closer to the woman.

"After all we wouldn't be good aunts then." Keiko sat the opposite side of Asuna.

"We may not be as academically inclined as you are, but we can teach her other things." Suguha joined the small huddle.

"Thank you, for your incredible support." Rinko met them at eye-level view.

"Where's Ryo and Kirigaya-kun?" The numb woman pondered.

"Don't worry, they're with Himeko-chan right now." Keiko answered.

"Himeko-chan? You thought of a nickname?" Rinko smiled softly.

"We came up with quite a few actually. Then we narrowed it down to Aka-chan, MeMe and Himeko." Rika explained.

"She's our princess after all. We're spoil her rotten." Suguha playfully winked at Rinko.

"Onee-san, we have a gift for you." Asuna gave Rinko a yellow paper wrapped box with a pink bow on the lid. Rinko neatly unwrapped the paper to reveal a blue box. She opened it and revealed a gold heart-shaped pendant with a emerald green center.

"Its a recorder for your letter. The center is really a speaker." Suguha informed.

"Thank you." The woman lowered her head in gratitude.

A raven haired teenager entered the room. His blazer was on his left arm while his tie was loosened. "Nice to see your awake, Onee-Sensei." He smiled lightly.

"What does she look like Onii-chan?" His cousin looked at him. The boy sighed.

"Thin skin, visible veins, small, about 635 grams, and just like her mother." He described to them.

"Just like me." Rinko repeated the last words and sighed.

"She'll be very beautiful someday." Keiko chirped like a bird in spring.

"Boys will be fawning all over her." Rika teased.

"Well looks like they lready have some competition. Klein is fawning over her as we speak." Kazuto softly smiled.

Hearing that made a big shining tear fall down Rinko's right cheek and wiped it off.

"Onee-san would you to eat something?" Asuna offered.

"Not right now. I want to record my letter." Rinko politely declined.

Kazuto handed the purse on the nightstand to her.

They all bowed and left her alone.

* * *

Rinko ran her fingers through the object placed in her palm and took a nice deep breathe. She noticed that the back of it had tiny buttons. She pressed the biggest one which gave a soft green glow. "Message recording." A robotic feminine voice announced.

_My beautiful daughter,_

_This is your mother, Rinko. There's so many things that I want to share with you._

_I want to to know that I love you very, very much._

_I have never loved anyone or anything more that you, ever._

_The time that you spent inside me will always be near and dear to my heart._

_Even with my condition, I didn't mind being sick, because it was for you._

_You were with me every step of the way._

_I always wondered how you would look like, your hair, your eyes, your nose._

_I wonder what your interests, your talents may include._

_I wonder what your favourite foods, books, games, likes, dislikes, hobbies, movies and music will be._

_I really do hope that we find something in common someday, no matter what it is._

_I hope you grow up to be a confident, ambitious, independant, bright and brave woman someday._

_I my heart, I know you will._

_I hope you won't hide anything from me, but if you do I'll understand._

_Just rememeber that I always want you to be happy and healthy._

_You are my true love, my darling._

_I love more than anything else on this planet._

_You are my most precious treasure._

_I loved you since your first kick._

_You being here, in this world, has made a long dream of mine come true at last._

_I hope you will have a dream come true._

_I can't wait to see your smile, or hear your voice._

_I can't wait to finally meet you._

_I will always cherish you._

_I love you._

Rinko pressed the button below the glowing one. "Message recorded." The same monotone voice returned.

Rinko reached for the call button next to the lifeline monitor. A nurse came at the doorway. "What can I do you for Koujiro-sama?" The nurse asked.

"Can you please get Nakamura Fuko and Orihara Namie in here?" The woman in bed nicely requested.

"Certainly." The nurse bowed and went.

The kids came back in again. Their faces were tired but happy.

"We just met her. She is absolutely incredible." Asuna said.

"We were supposed to have the same birthday." Rinko lowered her head once more.

"But now she has 2. Today is her actual and adjusted age. She'll have have 4 birthday parties by the time she's 2 years old." Kazuto pointed out. "There's gonna be a lot of presents at _each_ one." Keiko added. "With lots of love." Suguha and Rika said in unison.

The teens assembled a line, lowered slowly their backs and bowed respectfully at the new mother. "Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations." The five voice were in perfect harmony.

"My father says that if you congratulate someone on their birthday, good things will happen. We just wished Himeko-chan." Keiko hugged Rinko.

"I still think my nickname's better." Kazuto smirked and puffed his chest.

"The only reason you came up with it was because I was attacking you with my shinai." Suguha pouted and crossed her arms.

"I still took shorter that you guys." He added.

"We _made a list_ and then shortened it, Kirito-kun. You however just thought of _one_." Asuna interjected poking him in the center of his chest.

"I still thought of it faster than any of you guys." He playfully stuck his tongue out at his girlfriend.

"Well just see what Yui-chan has to say about this." His girlfriend raised an eyebrow.

Kazuto looked at Rinko. "How many names does Yumeko have now?"

The woman took out her phone and started tapping numerous times. "Let see, Yuyu, Yuko, Meko, Himeko, MeMe and Yumemi." She counted on her fingers as she recited the names. "That makes 6 in total." The mother concluded.

"Who thought of Yuko?" Rika scratched her head.

"Ryo did." Rinko blushed a little. The girls led out a chuckle making the her cheeks even more red.

"Where's the bear Onii-chan?" Suguha turned to her cousin.

"I gave to Klein. He's holding on to it until she's stable enough to put in the incubator." The boy explained.

Fuko and Namie rushed in the room and quickly hugged their beloved friend with their eyes watering."We're so proud to know you." They cried.

Fuko ran back outside and returned with a wheelchair. "Are you ready to meet her?"

Rinko's eye lit up and nodded in response. With the help of the doctor and nurse, she lifted herself off the bed, but hissed at the pain from the wound on her previously inflated abdomen. _This pain is nothing, comparing what she's going through right now. At least I can breathe on my own._ The image spun in her mind.

* * *

_**9:45 p.m.** _

As they made they everyone going through the hallway to the NICU, they noticed someone. A young boy with yellow/blonde ear-length hair with eye brown eyes was sitting in a chair in front of the doors. He was wearing a simple light blue hooded sweat shirt, black skinny jeans and purple sneakers with white stripes and black laces. In his left hand were a bouquet of white lilies. Despite the tension energy rising in the hallway, his face was calm.

"What is he doing?" Fuko moved a little faster still driving the wheelchair.

"Takato what the hell are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to stay home?" She stretched her arms and embraced her son.

"I'm sorry, Oka-san. I couldn't wait any longer. I came in a few moments ago." The middle-schooler hugged his absurdly youthful mother tighter. "I took the closest bus I found and ran all the way here." He nuzzled his face into her chest.

He walked over to Rinko and streched his left hand. "Oba-san thank you for giving me my present early this year." He folded the flowers in her hand. "I read that it's the flower of May _and_ a symbol for motherhood." He leaned forward to embrace her.

"You're welcome." She rubbed the back on his head gently.

A certain blue-haired doctor appeared in front of him. "My, my Takato-kun. You grew a little since the last time we saw each other." The boy looked at her and smiled. "Well, that tends to happen Nami-oba-san."

Fuko clapped her hands lightly. "We can't keep her waiting any longer."

Rinko closed her eyes and breathed slowly and heavily.

Fuko put her hand back on the handles of the mobile chair.

"I'm nervous." Rinko confessed.

"So was I, but now look at me." Fuko whispered in her ear.

The nurse pressed her hand on the door and slowly swung it open.

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**Thank you very much for reading this chapter! It really means a lot to me. I am open to any positive or negative criticism you readers have for me. Anon comments are welcomed as well.**


	7. First Meeting

**Chapter 7**

**A Mother's Strength Part 3**

**First Meeting**

**I do not own «Sword Art Online» just my OC's. All rights go to Dengeki Bunko and Reki Kawahara**

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"I'm nervous." Rinko confessed.

"So was I, now look at me." Fuko whispered in her ear.

The nurse pressed her hand on the door and swung it open.

The huge room was dimly lit. They were nurses, doctors and monitors with wires around an isolette. A man in a red bandanna was sitting down next to it, walked up to the women at the door. _He's been in here, with her for this long._ The realization silently entered the back of Rinko's conscience.

"You did wonderful." He hugged trying not to go near her newly stitched abdomen. "I'll take it from here." Klein reached for the handles of the chair from the nurse beside him.

"If you need _anything at all_ just text me." Fuko patted his shoulder and left.

Klein slowly wheeled over the overwhelmed mother to the incubator and sat back down on his seat.

The incubator had a small tag with Kanji on it spelling the name _Yumeko_.

"It's alright to touch her, she's yours after all." Klein took Rinko's wrist and carefully placed it within the chamber. When the hand made it through the panel she gave a small single brush on the open area on the neonate's cheek and stroked the small pink cap. There was a high note singing deep inside Rinko's heart.

"Your husband's right, Koujiro-sama. Human interaction is just as important as the medication she receives here." An older nurse said with a gentle voice and a warm smile.

"He's not my husband." Rinko whispered softly at the older woman wearing scrubs.

"My apologies, I thought he was." The nurse bowed a little embarrassed.

Rinko pressed her forehead on the glass-like structure, trying to take note of every single little feature on her daughter's body. From the paper thin skin, scrunched up eyes framed with reddish eyelashes and the tiny nose. The staring took up to 20 minutes but the mother pulled back her now pinkish forehead.

"You should go back to your room and get some rest. You gave birth three hours ago." Klein gently clutched her shoulder. He got back from his chair and placed his hands on the wheelchair handles and walked her out into the hallway.

* * *

**10:25 p.m.**

They were both back in Rinko's assigned room. Klein carried Rinko out of the chair and placed her on the mattress in a bridal fashion.

"Ryo, are you... mad?" A silent flow of tears ran her face after she asked him.

"Mad at you for what?" His gentle eyes probed at her with deep concern.

"For the game, and for today?" She lifted her face to meet his. "For not keeping her safe until now, dragging you all into this." She cried and rambled on the unneeded contriteness. "If I hadn't went jogging every morning...or...had more bedrest... If she dies...it...I..." She her ranting stopped, instead her face was bumped into Klein's warm chest. He while laying his chin on her head.

"Please don't say that again. You did what you could. This isn't your fault. Even the doctors explained this was the best decision they could make. If they didn't... _neither_ of you would be here. You tried _so_ hard, and it didn't work out, sometimes things do, and sometimes they don't. _Please_ don't blame yourself." His body shook momentarily and stopped.

* * *

_***Flashback start*** _

_**Sunday March 23rd, 2025 1:32 p.m.** _

Kazuto and this then business acquaintance were sitting opposite each other at a coffee shop near a Tokyo station. She couldn't resist asking about the people he had encountered during his adventures in the digital universe.

"So anyway, besides his inability to successfully get a woman, and the fact he accidently flirted with an NCP. He's one of the nicest, caring and dare I say, _coolest_ people I've ever met. Trust me he's a total bruiser with a soft center, don't let that unkempt exterior of his fool you." The teenager went on like a fanboy about to see a live sold-out concert; or at least coming out of a chick-flick alive.

"You speak quite highly of him." The female scientist responsed.

"Well, he's one of those guys that, you feel good being around." Kazuto released a little smile.

"Uh, we're having a party on the fourth of next month. One of my friends owns a café in the Taito district. You should come and it'll be nice for everyone else." Kazuto tried to avoid awkwardly looking down at her stomach for the third time.

At that time, her gestation was a tad bit over twenty weeks.

The scientist momentarily pondered about the invitation. "I accept." She smiled warmly.

"Great, I'll tell him to-" The boy was cut off his elder gestured her hand telling him to stop. "We should keep it _our little secret_. But to make it fair, I will _not_ tell you the name or the gender of my future child." The expecting mother drew out her hand, hovering it over the table's center. "Also considering your bodily communication, its quite self-evidented that you haven't been around women in my certain circumstance in a _very_ long time."

 _Damn it. Is it really that obvious?_ The teen thought to himself.

"Keeping a secret like _that_? I don't know my girlfriend wouldn't be very fond of that." Kazuto briefly paused at the proposal.

"I'll bring a cake." She added, snapping out the kid of his contemplating.

"Deal." He promptly shook the her hand in approval.

"We're gonna have a good time, _Sensei_." Kazuto gave out a grin.

_***Flashback end*** _

* * *

Klein took out a tiny pink stuffed bear from his pocket and gave it to her. "It needs your scent more than mine."

"You should go now. You have work in the morning." She stated.

Klein leaned his face forward. "But first. I figured." He whispered, getting closer to her forehead.

A sound came out of nowhere. _Knock, knock_.

Klein feverishly straightened his crooked posture.

A voice called out "I hope I'm not interrupting any important." A green haired nurse came in with a tray of food.

"N-no I was just leaving...Good night." The only man in the room evacuated with a reddish face.

The nurse shrugged it off and sat the rectangular plastic piece on the nightstand beside the bed. "I got a lemon orange cranberry muffin and tea." Fuko pulled up and sat on the chair next to the bed. "You should take a bite before Dr. Eat-More-Healthy shows up." Rinko grinned and accepted the gift.

"Did someone say my name?" A woman with open shoulder-length dark blue hair wearing a thin lab-coat came inside. She was carrying a something behind her back with left hand and had a cup of coffee in her right hand.

"Busted." Fuko lowered her head in shame.

"I'll allow it. I've been craving sweets all day." Namie pulled out a green cloth bag and dangled it lightly.

"I've been looking everywhere for those." Fuko pointed.

"Well not hard enough." Namie playfully stuck out her tongue and sat the opposite of the nurse.

"I hope you get fat." Fuko gave the impression of an evil witch chanting a curse.

"Sweet rolls or chocolate anyone?" Namie placed the bag on the floor beside her.

"Just like the good old days." Rinko beamed.

"Yeah, just a little _different_." Namie pinched Rinko's cheek. "Still soft as ever." The doctor complimented.

"Yeah, _we're old_ now." Fuko sighed.

"I mean we all graduated." Namie raised an eyebrow while unwrapping a strawberry sweet roll.

"And I mean that we're all in our thirties." Fuko streched her legs. Rinko lightly slapped Fuko's knee.

"By different I meant, I'm a doctor, you're a nurse and she's a scientist." Namie said in between bites.

"Don't forget mothers." Fuko puffed her chest proudly and raised Rinko's hand.

 _Don't need to tell me twice._ Namie sighed and sipped her coffee.

"So I hear that a _certain someone_ is doing quite well in middle school already." The doctor leaned in forward as if it were a gossip circle.

"Takato is doing better than elementary school, and _much_ better than kindergarten." She stated and watch the her friends nod in agreement. Fuko took a sip from her own tea cup. "We're still close, but I really do miss the quality time. He got older and I got more busy. I never forgot when he told me he wanted a sibling. Then Koko moved in, and he started feeling less lonely at home."

"I remember when I told him that I was having a girl. He got so excited he started crying." Rinko smiled at the past memory.

Footsteps were coming closer to the electronic door. A beep was heard and the open door slid sideways. Asuna, Keiko, Rika, Suguha and Kazuto went through the doorway.

"Onee-Sensei, we apologize but we can't stay any longer. It's way past our curfews, our parents are waiting impatiently as we speak. But we'll come by later." Kazuto solemnly announced.

Understandably, the woman in the hospital gown nodded. "Thank you, all for staying as long as you could. You have no idea how much gratitude I have." She respectfully lowered her head to the group of students.

All five of them reciprocated her response by bowing as well.

"Well be saying good night to the baby now. Then we'll leave the hospital." Keiko informed as she was the last one to leave.

"They're good kids. They love you enough to adopt you as an older sister." Namie commented the young group.

"There's something else bothering you. Spit it out." Fuko focused a sharp gaze on Rinko.

Rinko clenched on the folds of her blanket with fists.

"If you don't want to tell to tell us. Can you write it down?" Fuko adjusted her voice to soft and gentle, she went into Rinko's purse to take out the beautiful leather-bound black journal and blue pen, the nurse had seen _many_ times before.

Rinko ripped out a piece of paper and began to apply the ink.

_When I was knocked out, I had I dream. There was a health gauge floating a few feet in front of my face. It had her name on it. It went to green to red very fast. When it depleted completely I saw 3D polygons and a glass shattering noise. When it finally stopped. The gauge was replaced with a red sign that said_ _**'You have failed'** _ _._

* * *

**The reason that I made this three-parter is because I wanted my main OC to be a** _**very** _ **strong character, perhaps stronger than Kirito in the real world (and yes, this was planned from the very beginning. And yes, there are things already planned for Yumeko down the road of this story). Anon comments are also welcome!**


	8. Long Awaited Full-Dive

**Chapter 8**

**Long Awaited Full Dive**

**I don't own Sword Art Online. Just my OC's. All rights reserved go to Denegeki Bunko and Reki Kawahara. This was from my fanfiction.net account.**

* * *

**Friday, May 16 2025, 12:20 pm**

Kazuto couldn't wait until he finally heard the chime of the bell signaling the end of his previous long and dreary morning class. Even when it soundly oddly akin to the bell in the chapel in the Starting City of Aincrad. He had promise to have lunch with his girlfriend today.

He froze in his path and set his viewpoint on a female student wearing the school uniform. He felt like he had stop at just the right moment.

She was sitting on a plain wooden bench playfully swinging her long slender legs on the pavement beneath her. Her beauty was equally as enchanting as the flower beds that were planted near the sitting area.

She long strawberry-blond hair hung gracefully on her shoulders of her blazer. The rays of sunlight hit her and just the right second, giving her pale skin a such a tranquil and natural glow, that was scary yet satisfying. It looked like something straight from a motion picture or magazine photograph.

He waved to get her attention. As soon as it happened, her female give a warm and genuine grin.

"Sorry for taking so long, Asuna. I hope I'm not _too_ late ." He put his school bag on the ground and sat next to her smiling .

The girl nodded. "I just came about a minute ago. How are you, Kirito-kun?"

He laid his head back and deeply sighed. "Tired and starving."

"You sound like an old name, Kirito-kun." Asuna pouted.

"It's Kazuto, _not_ Kirito. Using your game alias here is considered bad manners." He reminded her.

"I forgot about that." Asuna covered her mouth.

"I'll let is slide this time." He smiled.

He leaned his body in closer to her's, but she unexpectedly pulled slightly further. "You do know that people are able to see us from the cafeteria?" She asked embarrassingly without making any eye contact with him, her face slightly blushed.

Hearing that, Kazuto's heart rate jumped by at he feverishly scanned his surroundings, including the glass windows and the tall trees. In his mind was hoping what she had just said was just an overdecorated fad she had heard from someone else.

"Just for that mistake, no lunch." She crossed her arms in displeasure.

Her boyfriend looked at her with the impression of a lost puppy.

"Oh, alright." She brought out a small picnic basket.

The basket's space was filled by two sandwiches alongside two small plastic water bottles. The sandwiches look nearly symmetrical as the ones she made on the 74th floor in while the pair were partying together in the game.

Kazuto instantly took one of them and began taking big bites.

"So how's your rehab?" He took a sip from a bottle.

"I can finally say goodbye to the cane. But I still need to stay away from running or anything like that, until the doctor says its okay." In order to meet the school's admission deadline, Asuna had undergo severe rehabilitation treatment.

"So how's your dad dealing with you-know-what?" He continued to question.

She let a small sigh. "He's been a little depressed, but once he finds himself a hobby, he'll cheer up. He's practical half-retired already." She shook her head.

"So are you excited for today's offline-meeting?" She waved her hand in front of the face now spaced-out boy. He blinked twice and turned his face to her's.

"So how much homework do you have?" The girl asked.

"It's hard to say right now. I have two classes left. But considering the amount I got right now, I won't able to sleep until Wednesday."

"Oh stop exaggerating." She chuckled and leaned in closer to him.

She rested her head on his shoulder, while he rested his head on hers.

Meanwhile in the cafeteria...

"I can't believe their acting like _that_ on school property." Rika loudly slurped on the straw of her drink. Staring intensely outside of the transparent window looking at the young couple together in the rose garden.

"Lis... Rika-san, can you please stop making all that noise. Spying in a rude hobby." Silica frowned at her elder.

"Well were you looking at them about two minutes ago?" The dark burnette responded in a nasty tone. The younger player's face turned red like a tomato and looked down.

"Well were you that came up with this one-month pact?" The dagger user added.

"If I knew it was going to this hard, I wouldn't have made it in the first place." Rika sat back down at their respective table.

A small silence drifted between them.

"So are you excited for today's offline meeting?" Rika changed her tone of voice.

"Yeah, you bet. I can't wait to meet up with Lyfa... Suguha-chan again." The lighter brunette cheerfully smiled.

"You two have quite a budding friendship going on." Rika commented with a teasing smile on her face.

"You could say that again."

The soft chime of the bell was heard through out the school building, indicating the end of the students' lunch hour.

* * *

**5:40 pm**

The Dicey Cafe's door displayed a sign saying _, Reserved for Today_. Three school-aged teenagers were standing in the doorway of the packed building. "Hey, we aren't late..." The only male teenager among the trio looked and sounded confused.

Rika stepped forward. "Don't you know that the guests of honor are _supposed_ _to arrive later?_ " She teased and pulled them inside one by one.

The shop had quite a few more people than unexpected. There were stacks of pizza boxes, plates, glasses among other things on the tables.

A bright spotlight immediately landed on Kazuto. His thought his heart was about to jump out of his chest.

Rika had a microphone in her hand and opened her mouth, "1, 2, 3!"

After her obvious cue, everyone else shouted. "Congratulations, for beating the game!" The chant was followed by clapping, cheering and the loud snapping sound of party crackers. The young person in the center of all the commotion couldn't help but look dumbfounded.

After a brief speech by Kazuto, and everyone trying to thank him all at once. The party resumed as usual.

Kazuto found himself at the bar counter. "Bartender, bourbon. On the rocks." He unreasonably requested.

A glass with a bronze coloured liquid inside of it appeared before him. The minor took a small sip. "This is Oolong tea." He looked at the happily grinning shopkeeper with a slight relief.

"Hey, Agil give me a real one." A tall man wearing a cheap red bandana and a suit with red tie that equally bad in taste sat in the vacant bar stool next to Kazuto.

"Don't you have to go back to work, Klein?" The student couldn't help but ask.

"Can't take on overtime without a little drink." The kanata wielder answered.

 _I can't wait to see how she designs her avatar_. Klein was in a dream-like state as a goofy smile grew on his face.

"What's with him?" The teenager oddly asked the man stationed behind the counter.

"He thinking about a certain first kiss that may happen tonight." Agil chuckled.

"Hey, you said that was between _me and you_."

"Well, now it between me, you _and_ him."

"Hey, listen we're really sorry that we haven't been there for a few days. How is _she_?" Kazuto couldn't help but sound guilty.

"Yumeko's PDA was on Tuesday. I wish that the damn medicine would have just closed the hole. She was on it for at least four days." Klein furrowed his eyebrows.

Klein puffed his chest and gave a proud grin. "My girl's stronger than a bull."

" _My girl_ huh? Sounds like you three are hitting it off." Kazuto playfully nudged him.

"How's her left foot?" The man behind the counter asked.

"The needle poked her _pretty good_ , but she needed it. It took a few tries though and some time. The scar is permanent." Klein took another sip and swallowed.

"Is there anything we need to know before seeing her?" Kazuto asked.

"Lets not talk about that right now. It's a party." Agil began to polish an empty glass.

A moment later another tall man in a suit sat on the other bar stool next to Kazuto on his left side. Unlike Klein, the other man gave a decent impression of a businessman. It was Thinker, the infinite leader of The Army, the game's largest guild. "Bartender, refill please." he requested for politely.

"Thinker-san, congratulations on your marriage to Yuiler-san. I hope you both have a wonderful life." Kazuto as both of their glasses clinked together. Thinker gave a shy smile. The two clinked their glasses together.

Klein leaned into the conversation. "That's incredible. Man, it would have been pretty sweet to find my partner while I was in there. I guess fate had _other plans_... Anyway, I'm really happy for you."

"Yeah, now you got _two girls_ in your life." Kazuto snickered.

"Don't take that out of context. I'm dating a single mother."

"I think everyone could take that out of context." Agil joined in.

"By the way, I saw that new MMO Today publication." Klein added.

Thinker repeated showing a shy smile. "Oh, how embarrassing. The concept of it is still quite incompetent... Also with today's current circumstances regarding the genre of MMO's, capture data or even the news seems pretty much worthless. I'm thinking of renaming my webpage, but thinking of the right name is quite challenging."

The black haired boy nodded in agreement.

His view turned to the giant bartender in front of him. "How's The Seed program going?"

Agil gave a scary looking grin. "Fantastic, it's spreading like wild fire. There's already about 50 mirror servers, almost 100,000 downloads and being runned by 300 large servers."

"I can't wait to see what her avatar looks like." Klein said lustily.

"Do you realize we can hear you right?" Kazuto elbowed his friend. _Am I really asking about this to the same guy who wanted to know how old Sugu was the day we had first met?_ He thought.

"So what's Onee-Sensei's avatar race?"

Klein shrugged. "It's a surprise." He took a sip.

Kazuto looked at Agil. "Did the plans for the after-party change?"

"Same time. Same place." The bartender extended his thumb.

Klein sighed, "I'm not so sure if I should try to kiss her tonight."

"Oh come on, you'll be fine. You're just a little nervous." Agil patted his costumer's back.

"I tried a couple of times before, but I keep getting blocked by Fuko or Takato. I swear it's like their taking turns or something. Plus, she's in a vulnerable state of mind right now."

Kazuto interjected. "Come on now, you can't let something that had happened two weeks ago bother you now." _You idiot! Why did you say that?! What the hell is the matter with you?!_ The thoughts screamed in the back of his conscience.

Agil looked at Klein. "If I may add, a kiss can be considered a very important highlight in any kind of relationship. My personal advice is that it should be heartfelt and natural. Regardless that if is in this world or a virtual world."

The three other males nodded in agreement.

Klein tapped Kazuto's shoulder. "Takato's birthday is coming up. I was thinking of taking him out for a little guy time with him for then. You wanna join me?"

Kazuto took a brief pause. "That sounds like fun. I'm free on Sunday." He accepted.

"Great, I'll talk to Rinko about it later."

* * *

**ALfheim Online**

**New Aincrad**

**Yggdrasil City**

**Kirito and Asuna's Inn Room**

"Onee-san, can you please show us the pictures _now_?" Lyfa, the Slyph warrior begged the older-looking female Salamander avatar Rinko. Rinko's virtual appearance was still similar to her real one, with the expectation of a couple adjustments.

Rinko smiled warmly and gracefully rose from her small wooden chair. She swung her hand downward to access the Menu, tapped on the Options button. As soon as the drag-menu came out, she pressed on Personal Inventory and hit the button saying Real World.

A new feature was just added in the newly revived ALO. The players are now capable of uploading and seeing pictures taken in the real world into the virtual world through the player's AmuSphere. This mechanic was designed to help the players, especially the VR veterans of the SAO Incident, not lose sight on their priorities or relationships in the real world.

Numerous small windows surround the front of her virtual body.

Yui the Navigation Pixie, who was just sitting on her father's shoulder flew around the floating snapshots with an innocent, curious yet befuddled look on her face.

Seeing the AI in slight distraught, Kirito decided to step beside her. "This is called an ultrasound, Yui. Do you know what that this?" The Spriggan asked paitently.

It only took her about a minute to search the internet for the answer.

"An ultrasound is a check-up to see if both mother and child are healthy and safe, Papa." She chimed and sat on the palm of his hand. Kirito patted her head with his finger.

"Mama, papa, what's _that thing_?" The small pixie pointed to one of the pictures.

"That's a baby, Yui-chan. But most of them don't look the same way she does. At least not right now." Asuna answered her daughter.

" _She?_ That's a girl?" Yui stared intensely at the picture.

"She's very small, but very pretty." The virtual being observed.

"Thank you, Yui-chan. That's very kind of you to say." Rinko responded to the compliment.

The pixie sensed a disturbance in the room, and flew around in small circles until she had found the source of it.

"Rinko-san, why are you feeling sad?" Yui curiously asked.

"Oh, I- I was just, thinking about someone." Rinko pointed to the same picture Yui had just seen.

Klein the other Salamader placed his hands on Rinko's shoulders, only to have Rinko slowly slide away.

"That baby is Rinko-san's daughter. Just like what Yui-chan is to mama." The blue-haired Undine mage gently stroked her daughter's back with a her finger.

"What's her name?" Yui asked curiously.

"Her name is Yumeko." Rinko replied.

"But we also call her Himeko, Yuriko or Yumemi." Lyfa added.

"Oh, how pretty." Yui chimed as her face lit up.

The cheery and pleasant atmosphere of the room was soon interrupted by the sound of something dropping hard on the floor.

In front of a wall, was an avatar dressed in mainly red attire. Her long red hair covered up both sides of her face. Both of her hands were placed on the back of her head. Her forehead was nearly an inch or two off from touching the floor. She had tried to contain her deeply compressed pain inside, even inside a world where masking one's pain was simply impossible. Suddenly large crystal-like streams of water poured from her eyes onto the floor, like freshly fallen snow in the beginning of the winter.

Asuna took a small step forward but was stopped by a stern-faced Kirito.

"The polygons and glass shattering effect were my ideas." She cried out.

"I still have that same damn dream every night. I never felt so helpless or terrified." She continued.

She continued to breathe heavily and wipe her eyes for what felt like what could have been minutes.

"Rinko-san, is it alright if I ask you what your dream was about?" The woman looked up with puffy eyes to see a small pixie in a pink dress and wings.

"It's alright, she's a good listener. You can take as much time as you need." Kirito advocated.

Rinko remember when he had mentioned having to briefly crossed paths with a virtual human representation of a Mental Health Counseling Program , the day they had met for the first time.

The rest of the inn room dwellers left to leave the two alone.

As the room only had two figures remaining, Yui was immersed in a white light and had the body of a little girl in a one-piece white dress replacing her pixie form. "Shall we begin?" She nicely smiled.

The conversation only took a few minutes to escalate until the real-world mother began to feel like her former strong self once again. The talk ended with Rinko ruffling Yui's long dark hair and a gentle squeeze.

"Okay, everyone you can stop trying to eavesdrop now!" Rinko shouted as she stood in front of the room's door and took three giants steps back.

Within a moment's notice, several colourful avatars were gathered on top of each other.

"Why am I not surprise." Rinko tsked and helped everyone up.

"Onee-san you don't have your scar here, correct?" Silica smiled mischievously.

"Yes, that's correct." Rinko looking at the group of young girls suspiciously.

"Group hug!" Lisbeth shouted.

_THUD!_

All the girls including Yui and Silica's feathery light blue dragon Pina, all jumped up at Rinko, sending them crashing to the wooden floor, all laughing together.

"That wasn't a hug! That was assault!" Klein rushed to help Rinko.

"It was a glomp." Agil clarified and assisted Lisbeth and Silica.

"Same difference!" Kirito rushed to help Asuna, Lyfa and Yui.

"Hey, are you-!" Klein's words were cut off as his lips were covered by hers.

Cheering and howling were coming from the remaining room dwellers.

"Gah! Yui shield your eyes!" Kirito panicked and pulled his daughter closer to him.

Rinko slowly pulled away as her face turned into a rosy pinkish hue. "You worry too much." She looked down giving an innocent, yet embarrassing smile.

Klein looked like he had just become a lottery ticket winner.

"Are you going to get married?!" Yui jumped up and down excitedly.

Hearing the question made the couple's faces flush in a redish shade.

"I-It's still very early for them Yui-chan." Asuna answered in an embarrassed tone.

"You see Yui, in the real world, they've only been dating for a month and a half now." Kirito explained as Asuna still looked slightly embarrassed.

"Onee-san how is her surgery recovery?" Lisbeth sounded worried.

"It's only been three days. She'll be okay."

Lyfa's voice followed. "But she's only 14 days old."

Rinko laid both of her hands on the heads of Leprechaun and Sylph avatars.

Yui hearing the conversation looked very confused and concern. Watching her daughter looking like that, Asuna felt a light tap on her shoulder.

"Show Yui this one." Kirito whispered.

She nodded. "Yui-chan come here please." She paitently requested.

"What is it mama?" The girl asked.

"I think you'll like this one." Kirito dragged the small window in front of her face.

"She has such pretty eyes!" She squealed delightfully.

"Wait what?!" Lisbeth rushed over to see.

"Let me see!" Lyfa joined in.

"Make some room for me!" Silica flew from across the room where she was standing.

"She's quite a looker." Agil merged himself between the fangirls. "She'll be breaking a lot of hearts someday." Lisbeth snickered.

"Don't joke about that!" Three male voices shouted in unison.

"Oh, hit a nerve did I?" Lis continued teasing.

"Yes!" They shouted back.

"Hey, its the bear we bought." Lyfa pointed into the snapshot.

"Oh look, she's wearing the hat I made in home ec." Silica looked closer into the picture. "Hey we should make a quilt or a blanket for her." The Cait Sith suggested.

"But Lis, Lyfa and I don't have a lot of sewing experience." Asuna frowned.

"That's okay. I'm not an expert but I can show you the basics." Silica wore a cat-like smile on her face.

"Well, in that case why not make some socks?" Kirito recommended.

"Why not help us Kirito-kun?" Asuna offered.

"Are you kidding me? I'll die of external bleeding." He responded. "Wait a minute... Didn't you take sewing?" The Spriggan pointed to the kanata wielder wearing a black and yellow bandana.

"Uh, well...it was very low compared to my skill slots..." Klein tried to explain.

"You know, I always thought you'd make a nice househusband once you told me that." Kirito continued to tease his friend.

"He is _very_ good with her." Rinko leaned in closer, laying her head against his forearm.

"If my memory serves me correctly... I believe that you called Yumeko-chan _your girl_ at the party earlier." Agil elbowed the man standing next to him.

Kirito walked to stand beside the Agil. "His exact words were my girl's stronger than a bull." Kirito smiled sheepishly.

"You love my daughter that much?" Rinko's eyes grew.

"Uh... well, uh yeah I mean... I enjoy knowing strong people." Klein responded.

Once again without another warning both their lips were pressed against each others.

"Warn people before you do that!" Kirito covered up Yui's eyes again.

Asuna pressed her hands together. "I think we should log out for now." She accessed the Menu. "We have a very important visit to make after all."

They all nodded in agreement and began to pull up their menus as well.

"Good night everyone. It was great seeing you." Yui chimed as she witness their avatars vanish in the blink of an eye.

* * *

**Thank you for reading! I appreciate it all of this support very much!**

 


	9. Guy's Day Out

**Chapter 9:**

**Guys Day Out**

**I don't own SAO. Just my OC's.**

* * *

**Sunday May 18, 2025 12:30 p.m.**

Klein knocked on the rich mohagany main door of the apartment. The lock disabled as the door widened. A woman with long green hair wearing an apron with a spot of flour appeared at the doorway. "Hey, its about time ya showed up. I thought you might've ditched to go grab a drink."

"Yeah, sorry I forgot to set my alarm..."

"Nevermind that, take a seat." Fuko gave him a glass filled with water.

"I dropped Koko off in the morning. Today's my day off, so I'll be going over there as soon as I'm done cooking."

"That explains the apron." Klein commented as he sat down on the sofa.

Fuko briefly bowed to him. "You have no idea how much I appreciate everything that you're doing... for us. He's been taking this pretty tough, and I haven't been able to get through to him for a few days. I gotta say its not easy being the only guy in the house, especially at his age. "

"Hey, no sweat it's really not that much of a big deal. I couldn't get any overtime this week, so I figured why not take him out of a couple hours. I wanted to do for a while now..." He drank the liquid to its last drop.

"You and I both now the reason why your working all of those extra hours." Fuko took placed a pan inside the oven.

"I don't how many hours I still have to do. I just her want to be cared for."

Fuko nodded in agreement.

The door squeaked opened. A middle school aged boy carrying a duffel bag on his shoulder hurried in to his bedroom. "Sorry, practice ran late."

"What's with the bag?" Klein asked.

"He's apart of his school's baseball team. He's a pitcher."

"Pitcher huh? That's a pretty tough position. What else does he do for fun?"

Fuko placed her hands on her hips. "Isn't whole point of today, you guys getting to know him a bit better?"

"Erm, right." Klein gave the glass back to the off-duty nurse.

The boy came out in a light blue sweatshirt, purple and white sneakers, jeans and simple red cap hiding his blonde hair.

"Wallet, keys, phone?" His mother looked at him.

"Got 'em." Takato sighed and stretched his arms high.

"I'm leaving soon and don't know when I'm coming back. So the door's gonna be locked."

"Seriously mom? You already told me like a 1000 times." He groaned in a slight annoyance.

Fuko patted his the top of his cap. "Now it's 1001 times." She hugged him.

"See ya." He pecked her cheek and walked out.

"Later." Klein fumbled with his car keys and shut the door behind him.

Takato looked out the window watching passing passing by. The atmosphere in the vehicle was slightly awkward. Klein was struggling to think of something to say. "First we gotta up Kazuto at his house. Then we'll take off from there."

The boy in the front passenger seat let out a small yawn and rubbed his shoulder. However his face looked curious, like he was dying to ask him something and sighed. "Listen, I wanted to ask you something ever since this thing was planned out... And I want the actual truth."

"Fire away. I'll try to be as honest as I can, but I don't really have anything to hide from you."

"Are you... are you only taking me out because your dating my aunt?"

Klein half smiled. "That's not the actual reason."

"What are you talking _about_? If that's _not_ the reason then _what is_ it?" Takato raised the volume of his voice.

"I grew up an only child. So I get how you may feel once in a while. But unlike you I wasn't lucky enough to have a younger sibling figure." Klein said not taking his eyes off the road.

Takato looking down to his shoes, biting his lips hard enough that they turned white. "I'm not lucky... I'm blessed." He muttered under his breath.

The car had stopped at a red traffic light. The boy felt a hand pressing onto his right shoulder. But it wasn't the small feminine hand that he was so used to feeling, this time it was bigger, masculine hand. He closed his eyes trying to remember the time he last felt something was that kind of nostalgia, but he couldn't.

"I stand corrected." Klein grinned.

Takato blinked snapped out of his small daze. "So how where the kisses last night?" He sneered.

Klein's face flushed red at the question. "Are you sure you're old enough to hear about this?"

"I turn 13 on Wednesday. But it wouldn't really hurt anyone if you told me a little earlier." The tween sneered. "Kazuto told me that you were nervous when you were talking at that party."

"Uh...yeah I was."

"And that _she_ was the one that _kissed_ you _twice_."

"That's how it happened."

"And you're okay with that?"

"Hey, I didn't really care about that at the time, I was just happy I got kissed one more time than expected."

"So is it true that this one time you flirting with an NPC in SAO."

"Wait you know about that?" Klein asked.

Takato nodded. "So what else did you do in the game?"

"I was a the leader of a guild."

"So is it true that on the day of the launch you got hit in the-!" Takato was cut off.

"Okay that's enough talking about me for now." Klein weakly laughed. _Does this kid have an off button?_ He thought.

"Sorry, I get ahead of myself sometimes. I'm not really used being around... people when I'm not with my friends at school or at practice."

"You practice baseball right?" Klein turned the car over to another lane.

"Yeah, I'm one of the team's pitcher. It took a while for me to get the hang it though."

"People need time to get the hang of things on their own pace."

"Coming from the guy who got hit with a boar in the-!"

"I thought we were done talking about the game." Klein turned on the car radio and flipped to the available channels, letting the music fill the silence of the drive for a few minutes.

The tires screeched as they stopped in front of Kazuto's house. Klein takes out his cell and sends his friend a quick text.

Within a few minutes the black haired teenager ran out of his house and jumped into the backseat. "What the hell took you so long? The movie gonna start in less than 40 minutes. We still need to get tickets, grab snacks and find a good place to sit."

"Well, hello to you too." The driver sarcastically remarked.

"Cut the sarcasm and hurry up! I've been waiting patiently for months to finally go see this movie."

"You don't sound very patient right now." Klein retorted restarting the car engine again.

"So what's this movie about anyway?" Takato asked curiously.

"Who cares? It's got action, mechs, fighting and explosions. Plus its in surround sound, 1080p HD _and_ 3D." Kazuto sounded excited.

"Everything's in 3D these days." Klein added.

Kazuto glanced at him. "Don't ruin this for me."

"That sounds like fun." Takato turned to Kazuto.

Kazuto gave him a high-five. " _This_ kid _knows_ entertainment."

"Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?" An overexcited Kazuto kept repeating himself like a broken record.

"If you ask me that one _more_ time I swear, I am going to turn this car around and then _no_ one is going to go see this movie." Klein raised his voice.

Kazuto stopped bouncing in his seat and remained silent the rest of the time.

* * *

**After the movie...**

"That was so cool." Takato exclaimed after coming out of the dark viewing room.

"Man, there was so much noise in there, I thought I would've lost my hearing." Kazuto rubbed his ears.

"I gotta go to the bathroom. Go start the car." Klein instructed in a laid back tone and handed Kazuto the keys.

"Got it boss." He accepted and led Takato out of the theatre.

"Hey do you mind if I ask you something?" The boy in the red hat sat in the backseat.

"Sure, what's one your mind?" Kazuto shut the driver's door and opened up the backseat.

"How do I be a good brotherly figure?" The tween asked.

The question almost surprised the teenager. "Oh uh, to be honest I'm not really the best guy to ask. I was pretty unfair to her after I found out that we weren't really siblings. But it's all good now."

"Do you think that I'll be a good one someday?" The kid questioned further.

"I think that's something that you should figure out for yourself." The older boy answered.

The driver's door clicked. "Hey what were you too talking about?"

"Just about that epic fight scene at the end." Takato dishonestly replied.

"Where to next boss?" Kazuto wondered.

"I was thinking about taking a nice drive and maybe talk." Klein pulled out of the somewhat crowed parking lot and onto the road.

"Okay but if I fall asleep, stay away from my wallet." Kazuto warned.

Kazuto tapped Takato's shoulder. "So a while ago you told me that your a pitcher for your school's baseball team. That's sounds like a lot of pressure."

Takato slightly grinned. "Yeah it is, but I'm getting the hang of it now."

"So how do you like middle school so far? It must have been hard adjusting to a new school after being in the same one for so long." Kazuto continued.

"You'd think that but I blended in quite well with my classmates. Having a class that's mainly filled wiht girls ain't so bad either if you catch my drift." The younger boy snickered.

"Keep your eyes on the books and off the books." Kazuto put him into a headlock giving him a nugie.

"You make it sound like its easy." Klein said from the front.

"You better study hard if you want those grades of yours to get better." Klein advised.

"So did you join any clubs yet?" It was Klein's turn to ask.

"Besides baseball, I'm in the cooking club." Takato replied.

"Cooking club? Why?" Kazuto asked curiously.

"Well, my mom usual works pretty late. So I make lunch for her sometimes and..."

"And?" Kazuto raised his eyebrows looking interested.

"And... there's a... girl that I like that's in there. She's in my class too." Blood rushed to his the tween's face as he finished his sentence.

Kazuto narrowed his eyes at him. "A girl huh? What she like?" He nudged.

"She's wears glasses, has red hair always in a pony tail and pink eyes... She's at least an inch smaller than I am." Takato explained while hoping that more blood isn't rushing into his face.

"So did you tell her about your little crush?" The older boy smirked.

"Are you crazy? You can't just walk up to a girl and say you like them! Plus I may not even old enough to date yet."

"So how how do ya got to be to date?" Klein asked.

"My mom and I are still... negotiating." Takato frowned.

"I hope you win." Kazuto winked.

"I wonder how jealous I'm going to get of Yumeko-chan." Takato lowered his face.

"Jealousy is a natural thing. Especially when you've been by yourself for that long." Kazuto tried to cheer him up.

The tween gave the facial impression that he was in replaying an unsettling memory in the back of his mind.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Kazuto snapped his fingers a few times, hoping to bring him back. "If you need to tell us something, it's totally fine. We won't rat you out or anything."

The boy blinked at looked at Kazuto and opened his lips. "I was thinking about my visit a while ago after the baby had her surgery done." He clenched his hands into fists and rested it on his thighs. "I wanted to see to the day of it, but I got really held up at pracitice. So I went the very next day, and stayed their for a bit. While I was there, she went instantly into an apnea spell and stopped breathing." Takato bit his lips.

Kazuto urgently started thinking of something else to say that could possibly change the sudden atmospheric shift and regain its cheery mood, then it came to him.

"Speaking of visiting... Suguha and the others spent almost the whole day over at the hospital yesterday." He smiled. "She did a lot of her homework the mintue we came home. I almost had to drag her out of her room, just so she could go down for dinner. I couldn't go with her because I have this really big test tomorrow and needed a lot of time to concentrate."

"Yeah, my aunt's kind of strict on that." Takato smirked. "Don't forget about her _penalty_."

"Don't remind me. The last time she found out I was forced to wear... _those_ things for the whole time. She even took pictures." Kazuto cringed his teeth.

"She'll go easy on you if you need any help with it." The younger kid advised.

"Yeah I guess." Kazuto stretched his arms.

"Sounds like you two are getting awfully chummy back there." A voice came from the front.

"Sounds like someone's getting jealous." Kazuto snickered.

Klein rolled his eyes and kept driving.

"So did you buy her a gift?" Takato asked Kazuto.

"Yeah, Suguha and I got this small pink bear. What about you?"

"I got this bell rattle when my aunt was still pregnant. Yumeko-chan really likes the sound of bells." Takato went silent and started staring out the window.

He left a light punch on his arm and heard a voice. "Hey what's up? You've spaced out for like five mintues."

"Nothing I was just thinking about something."

"Thinking about what?" Kazuto's voice went a little soft.

"This one time, I was sitting right next to my aunt and I put my ear on her stomach...and before I knew it, I fell asleep listening to her heartbeat..." Takato lamented.

The conversation momentarily paused and the silence was replaced by the muffle of the car's running motor.

Kazuto swallowed. "That sure is a nice sound to fall asleep too."

Takato gently laid back his head. The material of his hat was rubbed against the material of the car seat.

"Yumeko-chan is quite popular in my class. My classmates even have a little fan club in her honor."

"Really? Does she have a nickname?" Kazuto sounded intrigued.

"Yeah. They call her "Soilder-sama" sometimes." Takato cheered up a bit.

"Is that so?" Kazuto jokingly arched his eyebrow. "I still think my nickname's better."

"Hey, wanna grab a bite to eat?" The driver requested.

"Sure that sounds great." They both agreed.

Klein pulled up to the nearest fast food drive thru. "Okay so that'll be three burgers, 3 large fries and 3 large drinks." Klein tapped some buttons on a colourful touch-screen monitor.

Drive thru workers have been replaced by touch-screen menus instead of the costumer reciting the order through a voice box. So for a costumer's order to be taken by an employee, the consumer would either have to go inside to a restaurant or complete the errand by phone.

The guys sitting in the backseat quickly took some cash out of their wallets and then handed the money to the front.

Instead of a normal cashiers handling the money. There was small machine that would collect and give back change.

"It's been a while but it still feels strange having those things instead of actual people." Klein commented between bites.

"These are one of the few fast-food franchises that do this. At least the food is still being made by actual employees." Takato shoved some fries in his mouth.

"I hear ya. I don't think I could ever really get used to that. It feels like something straight out of an old sci-film from decades ago." Kazuto sipped through his straw.

Klein looked at the clock on his dashboard. "Damn it. Look at the time, it's already getting dark."

* * *

**7:55 p.m.**

After dropping of Kazuto at his house, Klein decided to drop off Takato at his doorstep.

"I had a good time today." The tween thanked him.

"No prob. If your up for it we could go out for some ice-cream or maybe to a video-game arcade. Just the two us."

"For real?" Takato sounded excited. "That sounds...nice. I'll see about that."

As Klein began turning around to leave, the sleeve of his shirt felt like it was being caught by something. He looked back and saw the boy's stern-looking face, the boy stares down to the carpeted floor the hallway.

"Will you promise me something?" His voice sounded serious.

"What's that?" Klein questioned further.

"Please... don't make... Yumeko-chan feel the absence of a... of a...father." Takato's voice slightly croaked.

The man placed his hand on the boy red cap. "Trust me. I won't. Ever."

* * *

**Thank you very much for reading! Please review at will!**


	10. Certain Secrets Between Two

**I don't own Sword Art Online. Just my own characters. I apologize for any spelling or grammatical errors that were made. This is from my account on fanfiction.net!**

* * *

**Chapter 10: Certain Secrets between Two**

Kazuto went inside the large dimly lit room.

_Looks like that she's still not back yet_. He thought.

He had come to the hospital by himself due to Asuna attending a private family function and Suguha being held up at her kendo practice.

The only feeling he felt caged deeply inside his pounding heart was fear.

He was alone with _her_. The last time he could recall having this type feeling was during that life-altering event that took away the lives of guild-mates in that hidden dungeon.

He lifted a chair and slowly put it down a few inches near the incubator.

"Hello Yumemi-chan. It's been a while since I saw you."

He stretched his hand out to reach into a round panel but at the last second hesitated and pulled it back. _I should warm them first_. He pressed his palms together rubbing them to increase their temperature.

He cleared his throat, trying to collect his thoughts deep in his heart, in an organized manner before opening his mouth again.

"You know Yumemi-chan. There's something I've been meaning to tell you for a while now." He took a deep breathe and paused while feeling his vocal chords click. He clears his throat again, trying to tell her what's going on in his mind.

"This may sound strange...but you, you remind me of someone, or at least you look like someone that I really care for. But this person is... out of this world. Literally." He can feel his voice croak.

"You see your aunts, Klein, Agil and I... We sort of lived inside of this virtual world for about two years. That's how we all met. Well this one fateful day during the second year, Asuna and I met this female AI named Yui. Yui became strongly... attached to the both of us. I guess you could call us her parents in a way. I saw her again a few hours ago... the only subject that I could talk about besides school...was...well, you. You should have seen her face lit up the very moment she heard your name. I hope that you to will meet each other someday..."

He stopped talking as the corner of his eyes were caught by the silhouette of a woman's shadow.

"It's good to see you to getting acquainted with each other." Rinko sat on the chair beside him. "It's alright to touch her." She whispered gently and touched his shoulder.

"So I've been meaning to ask you this. Why do you call her Yumemi?" She asked.

The teenager smiled. "I figured that since her mother is _this_ pretty, then she would be a knockout when she gets older too... She's like someone from a dream. If you ask me I think her beauty even rivals with Asuna's."

Rinko chuckled at his explanation. "Oh really? Because your cousin told us that you called her an alien when I sent her that ultrasound, the day we went out together."

"But I called her a cute alien." He slightly frowned.

"Anyway, you thought of a lovely nickname. I just wanted to thank you in person. I think she'll love it when she gets older." Rinko ruffles his short black hair.

"So why did you name her Yumeko?" Kazuto asked her.

"Because, I always dreamed about becoming a mother, and having a daughter." She lowers her eyes giving the expression that she was hiding something else she wanted to share.

"And..."

"And?" Kazuto added.

"And, I thought it would... _fit in_ with her father's name as well."

"What do you mean by _fit_ in?" Kazuto's curiosity turned to confusion.

Rinko took a journal and pen from the table behind her and ripped out the last page.

Shining wet blue ink glistened across the newly handwritten page. She wrote down three names in romanized lettering, all of them ending with the same suffix.

_Akihiko Rinko Yumeko._

She showed the sheet to Kazuto, who understandingly nodded.

"You think she looks like Yui-chan, don't you?" She changed the subject. "I thought so as well. It seems they have a similar appearance expect their hair and eye colours." Rinko placed her hand in the incubator and stroked her daughter's face.

Kazuto observed her interaction. "Yui's hair and eyes are both black. Yumemi's are both dark grey." He placed the tips of his fingers on the structure."She's a good listener too." He praised.

"I wish I were just as strong as you are, Yumemi-chan. My strength is just a set of numbers inside the company database. It- was _never_ real to begin with. It was just...an illuison." The teen lamented and belittled himself while looking down to his feet.

Rinko wrapped her arm around him. "I don't think it's _all_ an illusion." She patted his back. "Showing emotion is a way of showing true inner strength. People who can't express them are weak, because there not sure if what they feel is real or not, and they don't know when they can express them or not. So they compress so many feeling inside themselves, which may lead to an unpleasant journey through depression or worse... Not only did they lose a battle to themselves, they also started their own war." She smoothed her hand on top of his hair and placed her hand her lap.

"That's a nice pile of books you got over there." He pointed to the small table slightly further behind the woman.

She gave him a rather coy smirk in return. "I read to her everyday."

Kazuto got up to get a closer look at the small collection that was neatly stacked on the small piece of furniture. It turns out that they were a bunch of plays and fantasy novels. He picked up the one that was opened faced-down. He read the front cover and saw the title of the play, _Twelfth Night_. He mutely read the page to himself.

"I don't understand this kind of writing style... But can I try...reading it out loud." He asked.

"Go on." She grinned at him.

He started reading the current page out loud and quickly go the hang of it _. "Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness and others have greatness thrust upon them."_

He sighed and placed the book back in its previous position.

He quickly noticed a small blueish emerald coloured glass-like object, that was behind the books.

He unwittingly held it in his hand. It felt lighter then he thought, probably because of all the holes on it.

He suddenly felt an odd feeling of deja vu entering his mind. "Onee-Sensei, is this an...ocarina?" He asked.

Rinko nodded. "Funny. I never thought you would've heard of it. The remastered version of that game was released when you were quite young."

"I played it a few years after it came out. It's one of the few handheld RPG's that I remember playing as a kid. I used to listen to that song almost all the time but not anymore."

"It's a soft but a mysterious melody." Rinko added. "I played it couple of times that night whien we were at the cafe after you introduced me to everyone."

"Oh, I guess I wasn't really paying attention. I must've spaced out or something." He gave a goofy smile and slightly blushed.

Kazuto put down the musical instrument and returned to his seat. "Just a couple of more weeks before the extra special birthday party." He playfully nudged the mother.

"It'll be nice seeing her where she truly belongs." He thought to himself.

"When is her you know what supposed to happen?" He asked.

"Her ROP surgery is on for Tuesday."

_It's only in three days._ He thought biting his lips.

"If you don't mind me asking what happened to the money from the game's profits?"

"The money was divided into three ways. One of thirds was sent to the government to help pay for player's treatment. Another third was sent to Argus to help keep the game's server running. The last third was secretly kept by Kayaba himself as life insurance."

Kazuto wasn't sure how to respond to learning this new information so he just nodded.

"N-not that its really any of my business. But was he aware of your... medical condition before that... final battle between us?" Kazuto questioned furthur.

Rinko nodded. "I told him the day before."

Kazuto breathed deeply.

"Would you like to see some pictures?" Rinko unexpectedly gave him a camera. "They're new and I haven't gotten them developed yet. We can keep it our little secret."

"Secret huh? The last time we did that I was literally one step away from getting a punch from my not-so-happy girlfriend." He half smiled.

"Don't worry I got your back." She winked and looked at him with smiling eyes.

He scrolled through and momentarily stared at each snapshot like he wanted to remember each and every captured detail.

He stopped at one. "No way. Its Klein."

"He's giving her kangaroo care." Rinko smiled.

_He looks pretty happy._ Kazuto thought.

"Are you gonna add these pictures to the scrapbook later on?"

Rinko nodded to his question. "I'm gonna need a lot more paper then I thought."

"If you ask me, you may need to get an extra album just in case." The teen chuckled to his advise. "Hey, can you send some of these ones to me so I can show them to Yui later? Its just that, she gets really excited whenever Yumemi is mentioned by someone. And she keeps looking at the same ones over and over again."

"I don't see anything wrong with that. But for your sake you better tell the others. I don't want to see you get a black-eye 'cause of me."

"Nah, I'm sure they won't that it so bad."

"About what you said earlier. I wholeheartedly agree with you." Rinko pressed his shoulder.

"Oh, you heard that huh? I didn't notice your shadow... I just felt that I really need to tell her that and I thought the time wouldn't a bother." His words sounded apologetic.

"I think it would be incredible if they meet each other in this world. Just thinking of breaking the boundaries of both worlds and seeing a computer program in existing in real life... It would be a miracle." She rambled her thought out loud.

"I'm planning to major in computer science after I get out of high school." Kazuto added.

"This will without a doubt, but a very complex progress. I'll try to do as much as I can during this upcoming project."

"What do you mean by that, Onee-Sensei?" The teenager looked at her wearing a slightly odd expression on his face.

She places her long, soft fingers on his right cheek. "You're helping me with _my_ daughter, so I'm gonna help you _with yours_."

Kazuto bit his lips, changing their colour to white, looking like he was blinking away the forming tears.

"Rebuilding as the same Yui that you care for won't be an easy job. This will be very stressful and emotionally draining business to take care of. But when the time really does come _be ready_."

"Asuna and Yui will be very happy to hear this." Kazuto sniffled.

The woman gives him a worried look. "I think its best to keep this to ourselves just so we won't...jinx it or something."

Kazuto understandingly agreed to the pact.

"Still it was be amazing for them to meet. What do you think Yumemi-chan?" Kazuto turned to the incubator. He observed as Yumeko blinked twice.

"I'll take that a _yes_." Rinko grinned.

"She may smile with her eyes. But I'm gonna make her smile with her mouth." Kazuto raised his right hand as if he was swearing an oath.

"She won't be able to gave physical smile until she's at least a few weeks adjusted." Her mother notified him.

"It would hurt to take a chance to try it out."

"That sounds like a difficult challenge." Rinko played along. "So how did your bet with Ryo turn out?"

"I lost." The teenager admitted. "But the punishment is less embarrassing then yours."

A sly snicker grew on Rinko's face. "You mean this punishment?" She took a photograph of him wearing black cat eyes standing near Yumeko's incubator.

A chill runs down Kazuto's spine as he feels the temperature of his face increase and teeth chattering. "P-please don't add that with the rest of the scrapbook photos." He clasped both his hands together in front of his face and sitting on his knees until Rinko pulled him back on his feet.

"Aw, but you're so cute with your face all red like that." She pinched both of his cheeks.

"Aw, seriously? This is already embarrassing enough when a mom does this to a kid in public." He moaned.

"What do you think I am, Kirigaya-kun?" She snickers.

"Yeah, but I think of you as a beautiful, older sister-like mentor." Kazuto than faced Yumeko. "And I think of you as my beautiful, sweetie-pie niece." He softly whispered through a round panel.

"And I think of you as a certain high school student that should be on his way home by now before he breaks his curfew." Those words weren't from the same feminine voice the boy had been conversating with for the past one hour and a half. But it was male voice that sounded very familiar to Kazuto.

"Ryo, you came? But I wasn't expecting to see you so soon. N-not twice in one day." Rinko looked dumbfounded.

"I got off early, so I figured I'd surprise you. I guess it worked." Klein walked up to his girlfriend wrapping his arms around her in a warm embrace.

Realizing his cue, Kazuto bowed in front of his respective elders. "Sugu should be back home by now. I better starting leaving."

He pressed his hand on the incubator. "Bye, bye Yumemi-chan. It was nice seeing you again. You be a good girl now."

* * *

 

_"What_ a _great_ uncle you're turning out to be. It's almost been _three months_ , and you're still feeling afraid to touch your niece's skin. Even when she needs you the most right now." The guilt-written thought came into his mind as he exited the hospital's main lobby.

As he looks up to the colourful sun setting sky above him, he momentarily closes his eyes remembering the last scene he saw while leaving the NICU.

Klein and Rinko resting each other's shoulder. Both of their left hands were held in a loving, supporting manner. Rinko's right hand touches his knee. Klein's right hand was through a panel brushing Yumeko's face.

Kazuto exhales a slow breathe while opening his eyes to the present world around him. "They _really_ do make a good family." A small smile grows on his lips as crosses the street in front of his vision.

* * *

****I hope you enjoyed this one. Thank your reading! Please leave a comment at your own will.** **

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 


	11. Extra Special Birthday

**I don't own or have any affiliations with Sword Art Online.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 11: Extra Special Birthday**

_**Sunday August 10th, 2025 12:50 p.m.** _

It was a very busy time for Fuko's apartment, as the party guests scrambled to get every last detail concerning the decorations over with as soon as possible as their deadline was coming more and more near with every second counting.

Keiko and Suguha were blowing up balloons.

Rika and Asuna were helping with the cleaning.

Kazuto was struggling with fit in his giant, pink bunny suit.

The banner was hanging in the middle of the ceiling. The cake was sitting underneath it on a large coffee table. Next to it was a small vase holding a small bunch of Amaryllis flowers, symbolizing the joyful resolution of the lengthy, emotional hardship.

A neatly assembled pile of presents next to a pink bassinet as if were a Christmas tree.

"Hey, guys I just got a text. They'll be here really soon." Fuko announced.

"We're just about done with the finishing touches." Asuna replied while she and Rika were tying a huge pink ribbon attached to a bow on the bassinet and hanging the soft white lace curtain.

"Speak for yourself. I can't get this damn suit to fit on proper." Kazuto grunted. Asuna rolled her eyes and trying not to laugh while helping him with his back zipper.

A rhythmic knock was played on the front door. Four light knocks, Three hard knocks and one jiggle from the door handle. The secret code.

"Wait, I can't find my head." Kazuto looked from left to right of his surroundings.

"You lost your head when you agreed to that stupid bet, Kirito-kun." Asuna looked at him with a mad and stern facial appearance.

Rika shared a little laugh with Suguha and Keiko.

Everyone quickly gathered around the three tier cake as Takato disabled the golden-coloured chained lock and opened the door.

Klein walked in first carrying an empty carseat, while Rinko entered last holding a something close to her chest being covered by a light shawl. She bent her fingers twice as a non-verbal form of greeting them and touched her lips with her left index finger. "She fell asleep in the car." Rinko gently whispered walking to the lovely looking cradle.

She felt a hand on the top of her silky dark gray hair as an arm wrapped around the same arms she was using to support the bundle. Klein then rested his chin on the mother's shoulder smiling with her.

"Gotcha." Takato was holding a camera in front of his face.

With great care and gentleness she slowly uncovered the shawl revealing a small figure wearing a pink dress being softly rocked and safely laid inside the bassinet stationed near to the sofa.

The four teenaged girls looked awe-stricken as they saw Yumeko's face.

Rinko kneeled down, laying her head inside of it kissing her sleeping daughter.

She stood back on her legs while she was wished "Happy Birthday" by everyone in an audible, loud whisper. She performed a short bow in front of them.

"I can't believe that this really happening." Rinko said as Namie and Fuko came at her side.

"Believe it honey, you're _over_ 30\. Your life is practically half over." Fuko tsked she shook her head left to right.

"Well, I better leave before the early bird special runs out of all the good stuff." Namie said while mimicking the voice of an elderly woman.

"Hey, Klein how long do I have to wear this thing for?" Kazuto looked a little annoyed as he questioned.

"Until it stops being funny." Klein answered with a half-smile.

"Stupid drinking contest." Kazuto muttered.

"Yeah but you were just drinking Oolong tea. He was drinking the _real_ deal." Agil patted Kazuto's back. "But thanks to that train wreck, now I know what number to cut him off at." He raised an eyebrow at the man wearing the bandana.

"I promise to be...c-c-careful... Damn it, I can't even say it with a straight face." Klein cracked a smile.

"Hey, I didn't buy this cake as a decoration piece." Fuko handed a big knife to Rinko. Small slices of the celebration dessert were set into small plates in a matter of a few minutes, while Fuko brought drinks to the table.

Everyone raised their plastic cups. "To Yumeko-chan, Rinko and the rest of our summer." They all whispered in unison. "Yeah, summer vacation." Kazuto loudly joked as his girlfriend stepped on his foot. "But mostly to Yumemi-chan. We can't be more proud of you." He winced.

The party moved forward after the brief toast was made.

Rinko pinched of Klein's shoulder. "Ryo, you have to stop kissing her so much. There's _other_ people here."

"I made a promise to kiss her at least a _million_ times as soon as she gets out the hospital." He kissed Yumeko's face and forehead repeatedly.

"When did you do that?" Rinko asked.

Klein pulled his mouth much closer to her ear. "The day you gave me her." He softly whispered.

Rinko felt a slight tug on her the sleeve of her shirt. "Its completely alright, Onee-san. She seems to be enjoying it just as much as him." Suguha told her.

"Yeah, at least she's still sleeping and it doesn't look to be bothering her at all." Rika added.

"A male's touch will be very beneficial for her in terms of her development." Keiko stated.

"And its obvious that she loves him." Asuna pointed at Yumeko was cuddled against Klein's chest while he kisses her hands.

Klein rubs his nose his nose against hers. "Her skin feels so good." In the feeling of the moment Rinko laid her head on his shoulder.

"Please don't be one of those manga dads that keep on shoving pictures in other people's faces all the time." Kazuto requested.

"Neh, maybe a couple." Klein placed Yumeko back in the small bed, lightly stroking her face. "Man, I must've kissed her like 500 times already."

"Looks like our self-proclaimed bachelor's all grown up." Agil nudged Klein.

* * *

As everyone else was being distracted with their own small talk. Kazuto couldn't help himself looking away while watching Yumeko continue to sleep.

He never really touched her before because he couldn't feel more helpless or pathetic being on the other side of the plexiglass where she lived in day and night. But now knowing the fact that she is now healthy, silently relieved him to a great extent.

The teenager in the bunny suit grinned when his pink gloves were removed and reached his hand to out. "Yumemi, do you remember me? Its Kazuto Oji-san." He poked her nose.

"Gah, she's so soft and squishy." Kazuto lightly squeezed and picked on her face.

A muffle came from the infant's mouth. Her small lips start to quiver. A cry came from the bassinet, gaining the attention of everyone else in the living room.

A group of young female voices were drawing themselves near behind him. "You're dead." If this type of situation was being presented inside a manga, there would be a bunch of mad girls in front of a firey background while the male character's face would be drawn with white circles with black outlines and a squared opened mouth, while his body is shaking with immense fear.

_Lub-dub, lub-dub._ Kazuto felt like his heart on going to jump right out of his chest.

Takato rushed to put on the bunny costume head on Kazuto...backwards. "He's all yours ladies."

"What? Dude I thought we had a connection!" Kazuto sounded betrayed.

_Whack._

The impact of Asuna's fist landing on his head made his knees wobble, nearly dropping onto the floor.

When he regained his sense of surrounding and motion, the teenager took off the pretend head. He blinked twice to clear his somewhat disoriented vision and turned to his Klein shushing in Yumeko's ear while circling the palm of her hand.

"I didn't mean to do that, honestly." Kazuto apologized to Rinko.

The mother looked at him with a seemingly calm stare.

_Oh shit, mom's are always quiet when their pissed._ Kazuto started to sweat faster.

She wrapped his arms around him. The gesture calmed Kazuto's fast heart rate in the midst of the moment. The feeling was nothing more than warm, magical and mysterious touch of a mother. "I finally got to hear her voice. Thank you."

"Uh...you're welcome... Onee-sensei. I...can't breathe." He struggled to say.

After she released him, Asuna apologized for her physical attack after Rinko mentioned that her "Mega Punch" was super effective.

Klein reluctantly gave Yumeko back to Rinko.

As the mother gently cradled her daughter back and forth, she glanced at her watch. "It's time for her eat now."

"Right on schedule." Fuko tested the bottle on her skin.

Sitting down on the sofa, Rinko puts the bottle in Yumeko's mouth to suckle.

"Woah, look at her go." Kazuto reacted somewhat childishly.

"Looks like someone's gonna get her very future own bar tab." Agil said with a hint of anticipation.

"Its good to see you finally act maternally, Onee-san." Keiko witnessed.

"Nice to see you having some paternal instinct." Agil patted Klein's back.

"Yeah, I never thought I'd still be in my teens to ever watch you do that." Kazuto nudged Klein's ribcage.

The comments made the katana-wielder blush while making a small smile.

The four schoolgirls were sitting on the floor in front of the sofa as if they were small children being told a story. They look at the infant being wrapped in the colourful quilt that they all worked so hard on to finish. The moment was then sealed into a snapshot by Takato taking it from behind. The last time they were together like this the real world was when they visited the hospital, the day after the re-launch of ALO. The pleasant friendly meetings like this were becoming almost rare to them, especially during school days.

* * *

_***Flashback starts*** _

_**Saturday, May 17 2:00 p.m.** _

"Oh, Himeko-chan you're so pretty. I hope to be as pretty as you someday." Asuna whispered.

"You look very nice in the hat I made. I hope it keeps comfortable." Keiko said in a soothing tone.

"I hope the teddy bear makes you feel less lonely. I made Onii-chan take me to a lot of toy stores to get this just for you." Suguha smiled.

"We're planning on making a quilt for you. But it's gonna take a while." Rika outlined a round panel with her finger.

"We love you very, very much. You're our little sweetie pie." They whispered in flawless harmony like they were singing.

"I'm pretty sure she loves you too." Rinko was sitting in a chair behind them.

"It looks like she also loves sleeping ." Keiko giggled. "Man, can you believe that one day she'll start dating?"

"Yeah, I can't wait til the guys react to that. We should totally get a camera ready. And maybe call a hospital on standby just in case." Rika added.

"I dunno, the response the gave when you mentioned that in the game sounded like they were enforcing some type of law." Asuna sent her hand into the isolette. "But when that the day does come along, she's gonna need _tons_ back-up to help her out."

"And not just for hair, make-up _and_ clothes." Keiko giggled.

"Speaking of helping, Onee-san, would you like to make the quilt with us?" Suguha asked.

"Sure, that actually sounds like fun. I've been going insane not having anything to do at home. I'm pretty good at this stuff."

"But we're still working on our design planning." Rika mentioned.

"It's harder than it looks." Asuna moaned.

The fountain pen was seen gliding, marking a blank white sheet with shining blue ink as she was being told the chosen colours for the project. "There's plenty of time for that later. But make sure that you focus on your studies. After all, you _know_ what the _penalty_ for that is."

_Snap._

The woman closed her notebook, adjusting her glasses by lifting them by the corner. "You've _seen_ what happened to _him_."

A shivering chill traveled downward each girl's spine.

A penalty? One of the cons of knowing a highly educated woman.

_***Flashback ends*** _

* * *

 

_I should get more some pictures for Yui later. She'll be so happy._ Kazuto smiled as he started to think about the pact he had made with Rinko. _Someday. It's going to happen. And she is going to be loved just as much._

"She's going to get pretty fussy later. Good luck. You're basically never going to sleep the same way again." Namie winked Klein.

"She seems pretty calm, if you ask me." Klein responded.

"Ha, trust me. They _all_ do." Fuko grabbed Takato in a headlock, messing up his hair. "Mom, not again. Quit it." He groaned.

"Was I really that loud?" He asked after he was freed.

"Honey, the people from the _next_ building complained."

The 13-year-old's face turned pinkish as everybody else laughed.

_I'm hogging her aren't I?_ Rinko looked down at her child. "So, who want's to hold her first?" She offered the chance to everyone.

"Wait, wait, wait. Let me get a picture of this first." Kazuto took out a camera from his coat pocket and tried to get a good enough angle for the shot. "Say cheese."

A second later, Suguha turned half her body. "Onii-chan, did you turn off the-!"

Hearing her words too late, he pressed the button, sending a brightly white coloured flash only a small distance away from the heartwarming scene.

_Today's not really my day, is it?_ He thought as he watched his honorary niece cry and being consoled by her mother.

"What they odds of her crying twice in less than half an hour." Rinko said in a slight scoff.

_It hasn't even been 10 minutes._ Kazuto looked like soft of a small guilty puppy.

Sensing her boyfriend's guilty feeling, Asuna quickly came up with something. She took Klein's hand and walked back to the couch. "Hey, why not take another picture together?"

"Another one?" Rinko looked at Asuna.

"Why not? You guys need to take at least, a _thousand_ more. Especially with her." Rika's voice followed.

"Oh, totally. After all there's that old saying..." Keiko added and turned to her left.

"You'll have a child forever. But a baby for just one year." Suguha finished off for her.

"Do you guys rehearse or does that come naturally?" Klein was sitting down with his smallest girl in his hands while his biggest girl laid her forehead on his shoulder.

The girls shrugged simultaneously.

The couple smile while Kazuto holds up the camera after disabling the flash function. "Now Klein say will you marry me."

"Will you-wait what?" Klein's eyes and mouth widened.

A collective laugh was made while the attention was toward the blushing couple.

Suguha pushed her cousin aside, taking the photo herself.

Klein had his finger curled into Yumeko's hand. The infant's eyes were closed while her face revealed a peaceful expression. "It's a nice feeling isn't it?" Namie was standing by the bassinet. "Like when you tap her on her knee." Rinko faced her. "Hey, do you mind if I bite her cheek with my lips when she gets a little more older?" Fuko asked Rinko.

"Why do you want to hurt our baby?!" Klein turned his back on the three women in a protective motion.

"Dude _chill_. We used to play rough with Takato all the time." Fuko explained. "What do you mean _used to_?" Takato asked his mother."Mothers are supposed to be _nurturing_." Klein gently massaged the back of Yumeko's head. "Roughhousing _is_ a way of nurturing." Rinko crossed her arms in Fuko's defense.

"So it's okay if we girls do it then?" Keiko asked. Rinko raised her thumb in approval.

"Girls play rough, guys play soft. Got it." Agil agreed.

"How could you be _okay_ with this? _Seriously_ which _side_ are _you_ on?" Kazuto looked at him.

"I _told_ you before which ever side is being the most funny." Agil grinned back.

"Hey remember that time I hid Takato's bear when he was 2?" Fuko turned to Namie.

"He practically destroyed the lving room trying to find it." The doctor laughed with her.

"But I did feel bad for almost making him cry though." The nurse added.

" _How could you_ do that to your _own_ son?" Klein tsked displeased.

"It's an exercise to help the kid learn about their surroundings." Rinko lightly slapped his knee.

"Oh, remember that time when you told him that you ate his Halloween candy when he was 5?" Rinko added into the conversation.

"It was funny, because it was _true_." Fuko laughed.

"No it wasn't." Takato crossed his arms in frustration.

"I got a _whole_ new level of respect for this kid." Kazuto patted the younger boy's back. Agil and Klein seconded the notion.

"You know, that's _really_ special coming from a teenaged boy in a fluffy, pink animal costume." Takato sarcastically remarked.

"Pink is a good colour on me." Kazuto lifted his nose up in the air.

* * *

Yumeko was now resting on Takato's chest. Her right ear and hands were pressing on his heart. He remembered telling Kazuto and Klein, that she will be asleep to his heartbeat like he was to hers, during that drive they had that Sunday afternoon. _I guess that the heartbeat is a nice lullaby after all._ He smiled as he circled her back with his hand in a careful, easy motion.

A few moments pass and Kazuto was now able to change back into his normal clothes. The boy sat down near the younger teenager, looking like he wanted to ask him for something. "Uh, can I...try?" Takato slowly shifted his arms closer to his elder.

Yumeko was stirring into her sleep as her body was being passed on. The newborn folds her hands into two fists, flailing them, making small soft sounds showcasing her discomfort while being awkwardly held by the clearly inexperienced male.

"That's not how you do it, you dummy. You need to support her head." Asuna went closer to fixing his hands into their proper stances. "There, do you feel better now sweetie?" She cooed staring into her niece's eyes.

"Yeah it does, but it sounds a little weird talking to me like that." Kazuto commented. "That's because I wasn't." Asuna put her hands on her hips.

Fuko and Namie stood closer and snickered like they were still in high school, or looking up dirty words in the dictionary.

"What got in to you two?" Rinko looked at them curiously.

"You mean you haven't _noticed_ yet?" Agil chuckled along with the women.

"Noticed what exactly?" Klein narrowed his eyes at them.

"You're wearing _matching_ outfits." The nurse squealed.

"Wh..what?" Rinko scanned her clothing and looked at Klein's. She released a slight gasp and scrambled herself away from him.

"That's _so_ adorable." Fuko stretched her words.

"Shut up..." Rinko grumbled as she blushed. The woman hid her face behind Klein's back, while he softly rubs his hand on her knee.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Agil sounded delighted.

Rinko emerged from her not very effective hiding spot while thanking Rika for returning her daughter to her.

"So judging by the looks on your faces, I'm guessing you kids liked holding her." Namie gave them a quick smile.

"I don't think the word liked is the right one." Agil pointed to the quartette of young female students.

They all had star-strucked eyes looking something out a shoujo anime.

"Those hands of hers are like little kitten paws that you can curl her fingers in them all day long no matter what." Keiko squeaked.

"Those big dark gray eyes of hers make you want to give her everything in the whole, entire world." Rika awed.

"No teddy bear on the face of the earth can ever compare to her moe factor." Suguha moaned.

"She's like the human form of a gray kitten." Asuna adored.

Rinko try to blink away the happy tears in her eyes after hearing all those kindly well-worded admirations. "What do you think, Kirigaya-kun?"

_How the hell am I supposed come up with something else like that?_ Kazuto cringed. "Her... her turkey legs are adorable." He quickly spat out and widened his eyes as he heard his words through his own ears. _Why does my brain hate me so much today?_

The girls instantly phased out of their shoujo anime like state of mind. They turn their heads simultaneously in a spooky, slow, supernatural-like movement. In an old science fiction film or in at least in an harem anime all of their eyes would have either heat or laser vision locking their aim for their preferred target.

"Is that your idea of a compliment?" His girlfriend looked at him like a hungry tigress about to pounce on her prey. Scary.

"A-A-Asuna p-p-please stop! You're going to set a bad example for her." Kazuto pleaded as he slowly began to distance himself away from her.

"Gee, I wonder how many girls I can get with her around me. Especially in at the park." Takato said enough to gain everybody's attention.

"You do that and you are _so_ grounded mister." Fuko trapped him another headlock. "What do you know about girls, anyway?"

"More than you may think." He smirked.

"Look here, Mr. Thinks-He-Can-Be-A-Casanova-At-Only-13." Fuko put her foot down in front of him. She places both of her hands and starts pulling on his cheeks. "If you even _think_ about doing like that. Even in your dreams. I'm cutting your monthly allowance in _half_ and taking away your cellphone."

Takato sighed disappointed. "Well, there goes my plans. I guess I just have to stick with baseball then."

The ever-so-grateful Kazuto mouthed "thank you" to him.

A short amount of time passes. Rinko is still cradling her sleeping daughter. The mother tousles her offspring's hair _. All of her facial traits match mine. Not one or even a mix of his._ In her heart she knew which man she was wordlessly reflecting about, _not_ the one she calls her boyfriend. But _that_ scientist who had created that beautiful, hovering fortress and who also took so many away from their natural everyday lives while she was left behind on the cold, hard ground.

As much as the small devious piece inside of her ached to kill him. The indescribable and immeasurable piece of her loves and cares for the gift he had left her with was unquestionably, _extremely_ outmatched.

She lowered her lips to the small ear. "Thank you for your strength. You really are my one true love." She faintly whispered.

Her heavy eyelids close as her head falls sideways landing on the armrest.

Her final thought before drifting into a pleasant dreamland was that everything that has happened to them up until now, is _only_ the very _beginning_ of something her heart, mind, body _and_ soul cannot predict. At least just not _yet_.

The party has now reached its end.

* * *

**Thank you for reading! This one the longest chapters in my story.  Thank you for reading it. Please leave a comment at your will.**


	12. A Troublesome Night

**I don't own or have any affiliations with Sword Art Online.**

* * *

**Chapter 12: A Troublesome Night**

"Hey what's wrong? You glass is still is half full. Do I need to call a doctor?" Agil lightly jabbed the arm of the distraught red-haired young man sitting on his bar stool in an unkempt and slumped posture, while his head resting sideways on his arm on top of the wooden counter.

"C'mon why so glum, chum?" Kazuto shook Klein's arm.

"Rinko called me earlier saying that the rest of her stuff came into in my apartment. Then I realized that I'm now responsible for raising a daughter." Klein sighed and took a small sip from his glass.

"Do you guys think that I'll be a _good_ one?" He looked at the both of them nervously.

"I just have three things to say about this." Agil raised his fingers. "The first thing is, it's _not_ just _your_ crash pad _anymore_ , it is now a _hearth_ that now belongs to the both of you, _but_ it's mostly _hers_ from _now_ on."

"This might be considered a good time make some helpful notes right about now." Kazuto smirked and nudged Klein.

"The second piece of advice is, to remember that, you gotta cut yourself some slack everything is going to be fine."

"What's the third thing?"

"Get your arm off the counter, it's gonna leave a mark." The bartender retorted.

Kazuto patted Klein's back. "The way you handled her yesterday at the party was...awesome. To be honest, I didn't really think you'd be ready enough it in you. You've officially proved me wrong."

"So tonight's your first night huh?" Agil filled in a third glass.

Klein leaned downward a little bit. "Yeah, all of their things are at our place now. Ya know, I still can't believe the fact that I have a girlfriend _and_ a daughter now." A goofy-looking smile stretches his lips.

"Yeah, neither can we." The businessman smirked.

"To your new life." Kazuto spoke as they clinked their raising glasses.

"Hey, since you poured yourself a drink, does that mean you have to pay yourself back later?" Klein asked the business-owner.

"As the owner, I can give myself discounts."

Kazuto turned his attention to the man standing behind the counter. "So as the _friend_ of the owner..."

"You just get your own tabs."

* * *

Klein reaches the front door and feels a small puff of air hitting him as it opened. After taking his first step inside he saw his girlfriend standing near the couch with the bassinet in front of her.

"Oh thank god you're _finally_ here." She sounded frantic and nervous. "She's been crying for the past _two_ hours. I tried _everything_ and I _can't_ get her to _stop_."

Klein sighed to himself and walked over next to her wrapping his arms around her torso embracing it and tells her to sit down. Next, he gingerly picks up the crying newborn and starts to rub on her back. Within, the matter of a few short minutes, a calming atmosphere circulated through out the living area as the noise went silent. Taking the advantage of the moment, he puts her back into her cradle and sits next to the stressful and tired mother.

"The crying was been going on for so long and I still needed to unpack some stuff earlier. I didn't get a chance to cook." Rinko apologized.

"We still got some time. I could go back out and bring something." He offered while at the same time he was checking his wallet.

"No, you just came back. I'll go get it." She plants a kiss on his cheek.

After getting herself ready, she swipes takes the keys from the kitchen counter making her exit.

Klein rolls the bassinet in front of him. Both of his hands began to start rubbing shorts circle into her small palms. He leans his body forward to get a better view of her dark charcoal coloured eyes. "You know I'm really new at this. I really don't have any idea of what to do. All I know right now is that you're very special to everyone, but more to your mother and I. Even when if you and I don't have any blood connection between us...you're _still_ mine. Until the day I can't you won't be able to see me through your own eyes anymore. I promise to love you everyday no matter what."

He checks for something in his pants pocket and takes out a soft, red satin ribbon. "I got a little something for you." He wraps it around her head and ties both of the ends of it into a small bow matching it with her charcoal coloured hair.

He smiles when his hands both run her arms and onto her feet. Through the lining of the thin cotton sock, he felt the presence of that scar forever marked on the side of her left foot.

Blinking away the memory of the day she received it, Klein moved up to her face to give some kisses and smirked after Yumeko screeched in annoyance. "I can't help it. I wasn't always with you for very long, and besides your softness doesn't do you much justice."

Klein reached for another pants pocket when her felt his phone vibrating, when he checked the message from Rinko, he goes through the fridge and grabs a ready-made bottle and starts the microwave.

He flinched as start to hear high-pitched wailing when testing the heated liquid onto his skin.

He cradles her and puts the teat in her mouth. "Geez, at least now I know why your mother sounded so jumpy before."

Nearly two hours have moved along before the door had reopened once again. The young woman came inside with one hand carrying a cardboard pizza box while her other hand was filled with plastic grocery bags. She takes each food product out for display one by one nearly leaving any space on the kitchen counter.

"Look what I got." She sang like a bird in the forest.

"You know, really should be eating more healthier."

"French fries were once a potato, and ketchup was once a tomato." Rinko gets two plates on the table.

"Your gonna play like that huh? _Fine_ then." Klein put into the drawer, taking out a cutting board and knife. Next, turns to the fridge taking out a few vegetables from the crisper.

Two small bowls and forks were set on the table.

"You win." His girlfriend grumbled as she went face-to-face with her personal pet-peeve of good food going to waste.

The couple sat down in during the middle of their meal and engaging into a small conversation while eating.

Their ears were met by the sudden sound of the heavy pitter-patter of raindrops and unexpected cackle of lightning and booming sound of thunder.

A startled Rinko accidentally drops her fork making the piece of metal silverware smack itself against the wooden floor. Her body looked like it was under a spell of paralysis.

Klein picked it up and put in the sink. "Are you okay?" He looked concerned.

Yumeko's crying seemed to worsen that moment. "It was just a little noise." Klein held her and started bouncing up and down.

"Rin, you didn't answer my question."

She still didn't reply and remained silent.

"Rin?"

Another clap of roaring thunder was heard through the glass window.

Rinko quickly tightly closes her eyes when she covered her ears and started whimpering, while shaking her head from side to side.

She stops as she felt a hand slowly brush itself on her soft short hair and heard his voice. "You had a pretty long day. We should go to sleep now."

* * *

Klein wishes both of them a good night and kisses both their foreheads.

The baby was currently resting herself in the co-sleeper next to her mother while Rinko tenderly glides her hand up and down the small chest, calming own her little astraphobic episode as well.

_I still can't believe this is all came together so quickly. This, all of it, feels like a long dream. A good one_. She grinned and removed her hand from her daughter's body. Her body rolls over to the other side. "Good luck, she's all yours for the night." She whispers into her boyfriend's ear as he chuckled.

The sound of another thunder clap and lightning flash make their unwanted appearance.

Rinko's previous bodily reactions come back to her body. A cry comes from the co-sleeper stationed next to her side of the bed making Klein removed himself from his comfortable position.

"Hey, it's okay. Nothing bad isn't gonna happen." His voice was soft and mellow. When the crying continued on, he started swaying the co-sleeper repeating his sentence.

_Spark!_

_Boom!_

_Zzzzt!_

All of the power in the entire building went away, leaving all of the physical surroundings shadowed in a perfect, pitch-black darkness.

_I spoke to soon._ He gulped regretting the words he said just a few seconds ago.

Trying not to get distracted from the constant screaming, he slowly managed to move himself to the other side of the room and snatched his phone once he felt it.

Using the light being given by the screen he rummages through his nightstand for a flashlight. A small circular light was waved into the air and bouncing off the walls and ceiling. He leaves it on Rinko's table in the downside-up position as it mildly illuminating as darkness much as it can cover.

"Rinrin, wear these." He handed her a pair of ear-plugs.

"What about her?" She whispered but still is frightened.

"I'll handle it. Just go to sleep."

She nods and inserts the soft material closing off her eardrums from the noise.

He unbuttons his shirt halfway and picks up Yumeko and slowly presses her ear onto his bare chest, as the sound of his heartbeat made the shrieking stop and the room fall into a pleasant silence. "Ready to go back to sleep?"

He kisses her for the last time and laid her pink teddy bear next to her before covering her with the quilt.

Klein re-buttons his shirt and slides back into the bed. He hears a buzz coming from his phone sitting on the side-table.

The message icon was notifying him of the several texts that were sent from his friends. As he scrolls down the message log he realized that it they wanted to know if Rinko and Yumeko were alright.

He half-smiled and sighed when he sent them a mass-text assuring them the night was only 'a little' troublesome but things have calmed down after a while.

The power was restored as soon as he pressed the send button, and coincidentally the storm had settled down with no more thunder or lightning for the rest of the night.

He looked the home-screen informing him the current time was only a few minutes until eleven o' clock. _I've only been home three hours! Damn, what a night._

Sighing to himself, he pulls his girlfriend closer to his chest, resting her head underneath his chin.

* * *

**I know this is one of my weaker chapters, out of the first 34 chapters. Thank you for reading! Please comment at your own will.**

 


	13. Some Time Inside

**I don't own or have any affiliation with Sword Art Online.**

* * *

  **Chapter 13: Some Time Inside  
 **

"Are you all set?" Klein's mouth was near the bathroom door.

"Almost. Just one more minute." A feminine voice replied behind it.

"You've been saying that for the past fifteen." Klein grumbled.

"What was that?" The same female voice from behind the door questioned.

"Oh nothing. Just hurry up, or you'll be late." He responded.

Klein sits himself down next to the bassinet. "It's gonna be you, me and your uncles for tonight. Sound like fun?" He stroked Yumeko's hair while she laid asleep.

He hears the faint footsteps increase in volume as his girlfriend appears sporting a blue dress hanging gracefully over her knees with matching short black heels and accessories. She checks her face and teeth with the compact small hand mirror and puts the round object in her purse.

"So what's the final verdict?" Rinko looks at him curious about his opinion.

"It still needs a little _extra_ something." Klein goes into the linen closet and throws on a white, thin bed sheet over her head, like a lazy, last-minute Halloween costume. "That's it. Have a nice night, stay out as long as you want."

After releasing herself from the not-so-effective trap she sharply narrows her eyes directly at him. "This doesn't give you powers of invisibility, you know." She snarled checking herself for any make-up smudges.

"Oh, my bad. It's _this_ one." Klein throws another bed sheet on top of her.

"Ryo _, stop it_. It took me a long time to do all of this." Rinko grabbed the bedspread off of her and throws it the floor.

"Well since your already going to fix up her make-up." Klein wrapped his arms around her, covering her face with small kisses.

"S-top. C-cut it out. I'm gonna be _even more_ late." She pleaded but couldn't contain herself not to giggle a tiny bit.

She walks back into the bathroom with a half-amused and half-annoyed expressions mixed into her face.

Klein leaned forward closer into Yumeko's ear. "You're next." He smoothed his thumb, lightly gliding it over the side of her cheek to her chin. It's only been two weeks since the both of them have started to live together in his apartment residence, but to him it felt like just a few days ago.

"So when are the guys coming over?" Rinko appeared out of nowhere standing right next to him.

"Why do you feel have the need to keep doing that?" He asked sounding a little jumpy.

"Did you just answer my question with another unrelated question?"

He rolled his eyes. "They're coming in a bit."

Rinko leaned her mouth closer speaking to her a hush, soothing voice. "Give him hell, honey. He messed up my make-up."

A small soft bang was coming from the other side of the door. Klein answered it trying not to make any noise that would disturb Yumeko.

The two expected guests came in one after the other and took off their shoes.

"Hey who's ready-!" Kazuto muffled the rest of his words after Agil covered his mouth.

"Hey guys." Rinko greeted and waved at the company.

They both stood awkwardly silent as they were trying not to stare. "You look quite nice tonight, Onee-Sensei." Kazuto slightly blushed.

She returned his compliment with a small smile.

Rinko spoke into Yumeko's ear again. "I'm leaving now. Be good, they're all pretty tired. I'll see you when I come back." She presses her lips on her daughter's soft hair and drifted her finger apart from the tiny hand.

Klein told her that Fuko and Namie might be already waiting for her. "See you later, Rin." He presses his lips against hers, at the doorway and closes to on her way outside.

"So what did you guys get?" Klein's looked at him.

Agil took out two large bottles of iced tea and light beer at Rinko's request. It was the closet liquid substance to Klein's alcoholic preferences he had been around in a while.

"I miss drinking." Klein set three glasses and bowls on the coffee table.

"Well, she did give you a choice when you guys were talking about moving in together. You're still able to drink but not so much." Agil opened one of the bottles.

"Yeah, well it felt like the right one at the time. And she was sitting next to me too." Klein sat back down in his earlier spot.

Kazuto than placed a couple large bags of popcorn and chips next to the drinks. Then held up a stack of three of famous film titles.

The first one was a space adventure that featured a young man focusing on becoming a warrior under the guidance of his father's old master. The middle one was about four siblings entering a magical world after they fall into a wardrobe. The third and final film was the first of a series featuring a young boy and his two best friends coping with his wizardry powers while attending their school and learning about the his parents' past.

Without taking the time to discuss they all agreed on the third film.

"I remember watching the last movie in the theaters. Almost everyone in the whole room started sobbing when the ending credits started rolling." Agil reminisced.

"Can you really blame them? I still can't believe its been _this_ long since ended." Klein sighed.

Hearing the commentary, Kazuto slid the disc into the player.

As the opening credits were displaying themselves on the TV screen, the two older men began to biting their fingernails and wrenching their wrists, as if they were teenage girls watching a film filled with attractive vampires and werewolves.

Kazuto dug into his popcorn bowl and turned to Klein. "Is it okay for me to turn off the lights for a little while?

Klein ignored the teenager's question and leaned in forward still biting on his nails.

Kazuto rolled his eyes and got up anyway. He could already feel his foot on the verge falling asleep. He took a step forward. _Bang_. The boy tripped and dropped to the floor flat on his face.

The loud sound was then followed but a quiet, yet audible whimper coming from the bassinet. Agil helped up Kazuto, while Klein was attending to the need of his smallest girl.

"I really hate doing that to her." Kazuto rubbed his face.

"Relax, I'm sure she knows that you did by accident." Agil patted him on the back.

"Well, at least this time there's no one here to threaten to kill me." Kazuto was still trying to release the numbness away from his face.

"Yeah, you made them pretty mad that day." Agil chuckled.

"Here we go again." Klein sighed as he swaddled the infant in her quilt.

* * *

"How much more long is this going to last?" Kazuto moaned.

"She usually goes on like this for a few hours." Klein was swinging her from left to right until the ear-hurting screaming came to an abrupt halt.

"Did she just stop, or did I go deaf?" Agil whispered.

"She stopped." Kazuto whispered back to him in a cheery tone.

"No, she just needed to spit up." Klein cleaned off her mouth as the crying amplified in volume.

"I think she got it all out of her system." Klein sighed in relief.

"Man I never knew colic could be like this." Kazuto pitied.

"Yeah, it takes a while, but not as much during the night." Klein put her down in swing.

Agil stroked the newborn's head. "You forget how small they are." He shook Yumeko's hand with his finger.

Klein picks her back up again when she starts squirming and laid her head onto his shoulder. The infant begins to gnaw on his ear, making short, soft sounds. "Sorry pal, I can't feed you right now."

"Check her watch maybe its broken." Kazuto laughed at his own joke.

When the squirming continues Klein settled her back into the cradle.

"Is she okay? She looks a little sick." Agil looked a little concerned.

Kazuto feels her forehead. "She feels fine."

Klein patted her back until he felt a thick substance run down his left shoulder blade.

"Guys?"

"Yeah?"

"What colour is it?"

"It's white." Kazuto gagged.

Klein gave Yumeko to Agil and went inside the bedroom.

"I never saw anyone look so calm." Kazuto handed over a damp washcloth to his friend.

"I never saw anyone look so guilty." Agil cleaned her off.

Klein came out in a different shirt while holding a onesie. "It's okay, sweetheart. I'm just gonna put you something else." He kissed her forehead.

"Kiss her a few more times maybe she'll throw up again." Agil smirked.

He gently lays the distressed newborn in her bassinet on her back. He takes off his shirt and holds her close onto his bare chest. When finished he kindly applies pressure onto her back. He plays with her ear lope until she closes her eyes and slows down her breathing.

"You too are pretty close." Agil turned up the volume of the TV.

Klein threw himself onto the sofa, deep breathing and closes his eyes after placing her in the bassinet and re-clothing their bodies.

"It's been a pretty long day." Klein sighed.

"Tell me about it. I've been swamped all day, those orders kept on coming and coming." Agil stretched his arms and yawned.

"Yeah, you guys look pretty beat up." Kazuto reached for his snack bowl. "Hey if you want, I could look after her, while you two could have a little walk around."

The two older men looked at each other whispering. They look back at the teenager.

"If you're up for it, then we won't stop you." They both accepted the unexpected offer.

They walked up to the front door putting on their coats.

"Hey, if she starts..."

Kazuto raised his hand interrupting Klein and gave him a thumbs up.

Nodding at him, the two exited the apartment.

After the door went shut. Kazuto suddenly heard a high-pitched wail from somewhere behind him.

"Oh crap!" He started to panic and rushed over to her side.

"Please stop." The teenager shushed her.

However, the crying only grew louder much to his dismay.

"Look at the funny face." He stretched out his cheeks and stuck his tongue out.

He gently rocked the bassinet and reached for one of the pockets taking out a pacifier slowly slipping it inside her mouth.

The nervous boy exhaled in relief. "Phew, that was a close one. No wonder new parents have so much anxiety."

The infant unexpectedly spits out the sucker and starts to scream.

"Oh no, what do I do?! What do I do?" His teeth chattered.

He snapped his fingers. _I'll just get some advice from Asuna._

He dialed her phone number but only got her voice mail. _That family function of hers must still be going on._

"I wish you could tell me what's wrong with you." He groaned while bouncing her.

His eyes widened in realization. _Why didn't I think of this before?_

He put Yumeko back into her swing.

He grabbed his cell phone again, only this time revealing a screenshot from ALO he had transferred from his NerveGear. "This is Yui. Isn't she pretty? She actually looks a lot like you, expect for the hair and eye colour. It's like she could be your twin or something. That's sounds a little weird huh? You'll meet her someday, but in a few years. I'll work hard on that. I promise." He continues to slowly swing the seat.

"You know looking at you from this angle. I can see you a lot better. You have very nice looking hair, Yumemi. So do you like your new home?" He stops swinging her to rest his tired arm.

"The best part is that you can sleep all you want and not hearing all on that scary beeping bothering you all of the time. You're going to do a lot of amazing things in your life. You're truly magnificent kiddo." The boy traces his finger on the left side of her face and pokes her right foot.

Yumeko looks at him scared.

Kazuto's smile fades away. "What's wrong, Yumemi-chan?" He asked her sounding surprisingly calmer then before.

Her left foot kicks his index finger hard and starts screaming.

"What happened, you were fine just now. Is your foot bothering you?"

Kazuto covers it and makes small circles, apply pressure to the body part. He stopped and his eyes widened when felt small curvy line through the sock. He removes the piece of clothing revealing her bare skin and scar.

"You got that...from a needle. So when I poked you. You thought I was giving you a..."

He stroked her face with both of his hands and gives her a gentle hug, reducing her volume to a mere whimpering. "You don't have to worry about anything like that anymore."

He moves her from the swing onto the couch and sat crossed-legged style in front of her.

"I must say, you're really beautiful. The boys will be all over you someday, well not if us guys have to do anything with it." He grinned.

"Yumemi, I own you an apology. I haven't been very good to you before."

He patted the top of hair in a slow motion.

"When you were in the hospital I thought about you so much that I sometimes, I would tear up at night... And I can't imagine what it was like for you. I was too selfish to believe that I wasn't terrified to be with you. I thought about giving you cards and flowers, but I couldn't bring myself to do so. He blinked away the forming tears in his eyes.

He put her small hands into his own. "When you had your surgeries done I... The day when Sugu told me that you were coming home, I felt so relived and happy, that couldn't stop crying that night. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you enough. I love you. I really, _really_ love you."

His mind briefly went back to the day he had gone to the hospital by himself. He had swore to two things that day. Two secrets that he doesn't know if he could even trust himself with. The first secret was about Yui. However, the second secret was something that he wasn't exactly sure how to entirely comprehend. Even though the conversation he had together with Rinko was weeks before. The event was still fresh in the back of the conscience as if the event taken place only a few short days ago.

"If you ask me, the real reason why all of this happened, was because you already knew that you were going to be loved so much starting from the very moment you come into his world and you couldn't wait any longer." He kissed her face several times.

He dangles her favourite toy a few inches away from her face. "You wanna play for a little bit?"

* * *

_***Flashback starts*** _

_**Thursday May 01st, 2025 ~Evening~  
** _

"Oh what about that one?" Suguha pointed to an odd furry owl resembling creature with a pair of large ears, large eyes and a beak.

"That looks like something that can kill you in your sleep." Kazuto bluntly criticized the eerie-looking plaything.

"Sugu, this is the _seventh_ time you've said that today and this is the _fourth_ store that we've been to _this week_." He complained.

"Who are you, my biographer?" She glared at him. "As I recall, you actually _liked_ coming to toy stores when we were little."

Kazuto rolled his eyes. "All I'm saying is to make a quick decision. We're burning daylight."

"Well, if _you're_ in such a _hurry_ , why don't _you_ pick something?" This cousin rested her hands on her hips.

"You know I'm not good at these sort of things. Plus the shower is _tomorrow_."

"Then _wait_ here until I find something from the _both_ of us." Suguha continued to travel down the aisle of the store.

"Hey, I found something." She called out to him.

"That makes it the _eighth_ time." The annoyed teenager grumbled to himself.

"This is it!" Suguha gleefully pointed at a palm-sized pink teddy bear with matching pair of black eyes and big black nose. "Isn't it adorable." She squeaked like a chipmunk.

"I think that it should have a bow on it." Kazuto unexpectedly suggested.

"That's...actually not such as bad idea." Suguha took a tiny step away from him. "Who are you? And what have you my brother?"

"I have my moments." He patted her head softly.

"So we're getting it then?" She asked him with excitement in her words.

_***Flashback ends*** _

* * *

"You like it don't you?"

The teenager stopped playing and rocked her gently into the swing until her eyes closed.

Kazuto heard the door widen but didn't turn his attention from his sleeping niece.

"Looks like I'm gonna have give you an I.O.U. after all." Klein snickered.

"Nah, I'll just add it to your tab later." Agil entered behind him.

"I hope she wasn't too much of a problem." Klein patted Kazuto's back.

"She was screaming for a little bit, but she must have been tired from earlier." Kazuto replied.

"It's not easy sight to see like that." Agil patted her head.

"It's been going like this for a while now." Klein sighed and threw himself onto the sofa. "I love her so much, even if she's not really mine."

"It's no secret that you already don't." Agil looked at his watch. "Time ta go. See ya around."

Kazuto took his jacket from the closet. "I'll charge you for the babysitting later. I take cash not credit, but if you wanna send some stuff in my game inventory. I could work something out." The boy turned around to find that his friend and fallen asleep with the baby cuddled close to his chest.

Kazuto concealed the moment into a picture taken by his cell phone camera.

A key slipped into the lock.

Two bare feet make their way into the apartment.

A pair of gorgeous short high heels are left in the middle of the welcome mat.

The woman briefly walked into another room and came out wearing a long sleeping gown with a long blanket cascading on her back like a cape.

She had gotten a text from Kazuto informing her that her boyfriend had fallen asleep in the living room, and her daughter had yet another colicky episode during the visit.

Rinko covers up half Klein's body and snuggles against his back.

Her nose rubs against his shoulder blade.

She glances at the clock hanging on the kitchen wall. It was only a few a minutes before the middle of the night.

_It must have been a long night._ She can feel tears form in her tired, heavy eyes, giving them a slight refreshment.

Her vision changed from coloured to pitch black.

* * *

**Thank you very much for reading! Please comment on your own will.**


	14. A Sweet Visit

**I do not own or have any affiliations with Sword Art Online. This is from my fanfiction.net account! I apologize for any spelling/grammatical errors and/or missing words in the text.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 14: A Sweet Visit**

Rinko laid tirelessly on the sofa while her beloved child was laid beside her in the bassinet.

The mother closed her exhausted eyes but soon fluttered them open when she was interrupted by an unexpected soft taping sound coming from the front door.

She separated herself from the warm, comfortable position and sluggishly reached for the golden round door handle.

To her surprise, the woman saw four beautiful female students in front of her, smiling outside in the narrow building hallway.

"Sur-prise onee-san." They cheerfully sang and came inside.

"What's all of this?" Rinko noticed the plastic bags that they brought inside with them.

"We got some stuff with us if you don't mind." Asuna said while taking out a large container and set it on the small kitchen counter.

Rinko thanked them for their abrupt yet generous and courteous gestures.

"I'm sorry the place is a little dirty." Rinko sounded embarrassed.

"That's why we're here." Rika said. "I mean, last thing anyone with a cold wants to do is clean. Especially when there's two sick people living in the same house at the same time."

"And we bought more things for Himeko-chan." Suguha handed to small gift boxes.

The first box revealed a small necklace version on an orange crest from an old series involving eight children and their digital monster partners. The second box revealed a single pair of light blue boots.

"You're really spoiling her." Rinko flashed a coy grin.

"We can't help ourselves. We love our little sweetie pie." They spoke innocently.

"I know you do, but you can't keep buying her all of these things whenever you come by." The mother smiled.

"But it's the most easiest thing in the world." Keiko awed.

"And let's not forget it's a great excuse to go shopping." Rika added.

Keiko nudged her in the ribs.

"Hey, it's not like you weren't thinking the same thing." The darker brunette murmured.

"Yeah, but we _weren't_ going to think it _out loud_." The lighter brunette whispered back.

"I'm sure it _is_." Rinko laughed while setting a stack of plates and a group of glasses on the kitchen table.

"The place isn't as dirty as we thought. It actually looks like it was already cleaned from before." Asuna looked around her standing position.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you. The thing is that a pair of striking young women and a handsome young boy came by a couple of days ago." Rinko informed the quartette.

"That's alright. We'll just clean up later." Suguha added.

"You girls better go wash up. It's almost time for lunch." The sick woman gave them a grin.

* * *

As they all sat together to eat, the girls seemed to have difficulty taking their attention off from the sleeping sick infant in the living room.

"Why do you girls look so sleepy all of a sudden?" Their older sister wanted to know.

"Sorry onee-san, but it seems that she possesses a high AOE skill." Rika yawned a little.

"Maybe even more higher than Kirito-kun's in-game. If he was here he would have already collapsed in his chair in a deep sleep." Asuna nearly shut her eyes closed.

"Is that right?" Rinko chuckled softly.

"But you already know what's that like, onee-san." Keiko sounded tired.

"What do you mean by that?" Rinko looked at her.

The ribbon wearing girl showed her a picture where the said mother/daughter duo were harmoniously fell asleep on the couch during the party.

A light crimson hue appeared on Rinko's face.

"You're the real world's best mother/daughter pairing." Asuna wrapped her arms around the adult's neck while a small cheer and clap came from the others.

"That means a lot coming from half of the virtual world's best mother/daughter duo." Rinko patted Asuna's hair.

The temporary pleasantry of the moment soon dissolved as the atmospheric noiselessness was being drowned with high pitched whining coming from the other side, resulting the mother to hurriedly approach her sick little one.

Rika pulled her cell phone camera up to her face. "Now we get to see the darling smoking hot mother in action once again."

After using salt water and a rubber bulb syringe to decongest the mucus in her daughter's nose. Rinko rocked her, making the infant go back to sleep.

"How did the recording go?" Rinko turned around and smiled.

"Just as good as last time." Rika extended her thumb.

"So you send all of these pictures and videos you make here over to Yui-chan?" Rinko blew her nose with a soft tissue.

The girls nodded altogether in unison.

"Of course, she's apart of the family too." Rika took a bite from her plate.

"And it makes her _really_ happy." Keiko followed.

"Plus she has such a wonderful smile." Suguha added.

Asuna shyly lowered her vision to the floor as a gentle warmness embraced her heart.

_That might be a problem for later when that time comes along. I'm going to need to talk to Kirigaya-kun about this later._ Rinko thought while nearly finishing her meal.

Rinko then made a pot of tea and served with the pastries that they brought with them.

"So how are you colds coming along?" Suguha asked.

"Oh, there almost completely gone." Rinko sniffled.

"So how is Himeko-chan adapting here?" Asuna sipped the warm liquid.

"It's hard to come up with an _exact_ conclusion after getting mild colic, a fever and a cold as well."

"How long does she need to sleep for?" Rika waited for her tea to cool down.

"About 20 hours, but for short time periods. She gets quite fussy during the night."

Keiko directed her eye contact to the elder. "When does she need to be fed?"

"Every 2-3 hours."

"Does she have a favourite toy?" The question belonged to Suguha.

"She's very fond of that teddy bear you gifted her, she never wants to get away from it."

Suguha's heart fluttered inside while her face showed a light blush. "Well... I can't take all of the credit. It was onii-chan was the one who paid for it."

"Did you cut her nails yet?" Asuna questioned the woman beside her.

"Yeah, luckily Ryo was still here to help me out, and she's thankfully a sound sleeper." Rinko are the strawberry off her cake.

"Himeko-chan didn't wake up during it did she?" Rika said in between bites.

"No, as a matter of fact, he's part of the reason why she's a sound sleeper."

"Wow, they much really love each other a lot then." Keiko complimented.

"Yes, they do." The mother felt the tea warm the inside of her body.

* * *

"Oh, Himeko-chan you look very pretty today." Keiko soundly murmured.

"So how is our grey kitten doing today?" Asuna stroked her hair with warm fingers.

"Wow, onee-san you look pretty tired out." Rika observed the woman with her head laid back on the couch seat, still wearing her long sleeping gown.

"She woke up early and had a screaming fit. I haven't been able to go back to sleep since then." Rinko moaned and yawned.

"You can go in your room for a while. There's plenty of us to keep an eye on her." Suguha offered the overly-tired mother.

"That would be great." Rinko got up stiffly. "There's a couple of bottles in the fridge, and feel free to eat anything else from the fridge or cupboards. If you need help don't hesitate to come wake up." She bowed and left the living area.

There was a small silence in the are that was quickly substituted with the girls talking amongst themselves.

"Can you believe that someday, we're actually going to help walk, talk and other things when the time comes." Keiko's voice nearly sounded like a chipmunk's.

"But if you really think about it, will we even be here to help when she does? I mean...we're always busy with school, the game and other things. We hardly see each other as much...right now." Rika felt worried and frowned.

"Sure we will. Just have some more faith in our friendship." Suguha put her hand on her shoulder. _She does have a good point though_ , she silently thought.

"Besides poor thing already has a cold. Let's just focus on making her feel better for now." Asuna tried a hand in comforting Rika. _We won't be in school forever will we?_ The teenager blinked her mind back in the present moment.

"And it's not like onee-san isn't going to stop sending us all sorts of pictures and videos when we're not here." Keiko spoke in an encouraging tone. _But will those ever be enough?_ The girl put on a brave smile.

"Well in that case, she better _prepare_ ourselves for her _first heartbreak_." Rika smiled a little.

"But _before_ that, her _first_ _date_." Asuna said with a small laugh.

"And _before_ the first date, we need to be _backup_ support for when she brings _that_ certain person home with her." Suguha added.

A little cough came from the bassinet they were sitting nearby.

"What are the odds of her, onee-san and onii-chan getting colds around the same time." Suguha sighed.

"It's a miracle that you're not sick, Suguha-san." Keiko noticed her seemingly unaffected physique.

"I hardly get sick, thanks to this great immune system of mine." Suguha slouched in her seat. "It also means that I don't really get a good enough excuse to stay home from school whenever I want too." She groaned.

"You know, you could play hooky whenever you'd feel like it." Rika teased the younger girl.

"No way, then I'm gonna have to deal with onii-chan later."

They all giggled together.

Yumeko lets out a little cough and sneeze.

"Oh, it's ok sweetie." Asuna nicely tucked her back in again.

"Be careful that it's not too tight, she's gonna suffocate then." The online blacksmith advised.

"Don't worry, she's fine." Asuna assured her.

"She looks really tired. I hope she'll sleep better tonight." Keiko sounded sympathetic towards the young patient.

"At least it's not like that fever she had before." Rika began going through the kitchen cupboards. "Damn, he hit the mother load and its free." In a pleasant manner she grabbed a couple of bags, and put them on the counter.

"Not so loud, Rika-san." Suguha shushed her.

They hear the door lock being disabled and a stretched out single squeak as it widened.

The current occupants collectively shushed the man coming inside the moment he appeared in front of them.

"When did you kids get here? I didn't invite anyone." Klein scratched the back of his head.

"No one did. We invited ourselves." Keiko stated with a grin her face.

"You _barged_ in my place unannounced?" Klein crossed his arms.

"We didn't _barge_ in par se... We just came in to _without_ any type of notice just to give surprise visit to onee-san." Suguha brightly smiled.

"Yeah, and it's been so long since we saw them." Asuna cheerfully played along.

"Didn't see them? You we're here just _three days_ ago." Klein responded.

"Those were three day ago _too long_." Rika said while enjoying her snack.

"Are you eating _my_ stuff?" Klein pointed at her.

"We have permission from your girlfriend." The high schooler replied in a resolute tone.

_Damn it, I can't top that._ He sighed and shook his head from side to side and sauntered to the bassinet other the opposite side.

He reached for his smallest girl's hand. "Did she take her medicine yet?"

"Yeah, a while ago." Asuna replied.

"Where's Rin?"

"Onee-san is taking a nap inside." Keiko answered him.

Klein read the time on the clock that was hanging in the kitchen. As he reached for the door knob he looked at the students who were behind him. "I'm not _paying_ for all of you."

"That's fine. We'll just be here and _eat_ your snacks instead." Rika snickered at him.

"Or you _could_ leave us something in our inventory, like what you did with Kirito-kun." Asuna continued to haze him.

"Are you kidding me? That'll cost me a fortune." Klein spatted out.

"It'll cost you one either way." Suguha pointed out.

"It's all _your_ decision." Keiko's voice followed the other female ones.

"Well, I _choose_ to think about it later. I gotta go." He hurried out of the scene.

"Don't you think you should have told him that we brought food with us?" Asuna lightly tugged on Rika's shirt sleeve. "Nah, he'll figure it out later."

* * *

Suguha gave the external impression that she was staring into thin air. The kendo practice felt a hand tap on her shoulder in a fast paced movement.

"What's going on with you Suguha-san?" The voice she heard came from the online Cait Saith player.

"It looks like daydreaming runs in the family." Asuna giggled while burping the baby.

"By that smile you gave it looked you were thinking about someone. It wasn't boy was it?" Rika teased and elbowed her.

"N-no it wasn't anything like that..." Suguha's face grew red.

"Then what was it?" Keiko wanted clarification.

"I-I was just thinking about... About the night we met, onee-san." The girl shyly confessed.

"Remember when she played that song on her ocarina twice in a row." Rika's mind flashbacked.

"Or when she would draw a heart on her stomach, and Himeko-chan would give her a kick in response." Asuna sighed at the pleasant memory.

"And that small grin and laugh onee-san afterwards." Keiko's heart fluttered.

"When we first heard Himeko-chan cry, she... She sounded healthy." Rika bit her lips turning then to white.

"We got pretty mad at Kirito-kun did we?" Asuna giggled once more.

"If I recall we just got upset. But you nearly commented attempted murder." Keiko nudged her friend.

"We owe onii-chan a lot. Without him, we'd never would have meet them in the first place."

Suguha added.

The rest looked at each other wholeheartedly agreeing with the truth.

They hear the sound of a door open and close, followed by heavy footsteps.

"I can't thank you kids enough. I really need some sleep." The rejuvenated woman gave them a wide grin.

The girls huddled and embraced with tender feelings telling her how much they love, respect and admire her.

* * *

**Thank you for your support!  Again, this is one of my weaker chapters in the first set of 34 chapters. Please comment. :)**


	15. A Milestone Reached

**I don't own or have any affiliations with Sword Art Online. I apologize for any selling/grammatical errors and/or missing words that were made into the text. This is from my fanfiction.net account!**

* * *

**Chapter 15: A Milestone Reached**

_**September 14th, 2025** _

A soft banging came from the front door. Rinko opened it and left Kazuto inside.

"Hello onee-sensei." The black-haired teenager bowed.

The woman reciprocated the gesture. "Your voice sounds a lot more better, Kirigaya-kun."

"Yeah, those cough drops that you recommended really worked for me."

"Where is everyone else?"

"They're gonna come by later. Suguha got held up practice. Asuna's driver got stuck in traffic, and Rika and Keiko will be coming together. I thought I'd make it here earlier before her aunts start obsessing over here again."

Rinko nodded at his explanation. "So I see that you brought your bag with you. I assume that you didn't get your homework finished yet." She tsked and shook her head from left to right.

Kazuto gulped and bit his lips. "Well...you see. Since we were all gonna meet up here. We'd figure... We could keep an eye on each other...and do some work for now."

"Hey, no need to sound so tense. I was just kidding around." Rinko ruffled his hair. "That sounds good to me. I hope you get some done."

_She said that so calmly, I thought she was going to be pissed._ The student sighed in relief.

"By the way, how is that app you've been working on?" She asked him.

"There's some programming notes I may have to give another look at and run them over again, but Yui can still hear and see everything clearly. She's been a great help on the other side, and that advice that you gave to me was we very helpful."

Kazuto smiled as he leisurely sauntered to kneeled down to the bassinet. "So she still hasn't learned to smile yet?"

Rinko shook her head left to right.

"So, how is you PTSD?" Kazuto looked at the older woman.

"I still have it, but I am also gratefully fortunate to have such a wonderful support system at my side." She went up to him and patted his head.

"Onee-sensei, is it still okay for me to call her Yumemi? I mean... It doesn't have any sort of resemblance to her actual name." Kazuto waited for her answer.

"I think it's perfectly fine. A nickname doesn't necessarily have to be identical to it."

The black-haired boy nodded in agreement.

Rinko then turned her attention to the time being shown on the clock. Nearly noon.

He watched her grab her purse and ring of keys. "I have to leave for my appointment now. There's food in the fridge and you have to feed her in a little while." She kissed her daughter goodbye and thanked him for coming early.

After watching the door close behind her, the teenager takes out his cell phone.

"Hi Yui. Can you hear and see me right now?"

"I can see and hear you clearly Papa." A small lovely voiced chimed through the mobile phone terminal speaker.

"Guess where I am Yui." He whispered into the screen.

"Where?" She asked him curiously.

Kazuto's bright grin was interrupted by a shrill cry.

"What's that noise, Papa?" The AI's voice came through the other end.

"Oh, Yumemi just woke up." Kazuto answered her question.

"Eh? Yumeko-chan is with you?"

"Yeah, your mother and aunts are going to look after her for a while. So much for keeping that a surprise."

Kazuto carefully held on to Yumeko in his arm while positioning his cell phone with his right hand.

"She's so cute and pretty!" Yui brightly chimed once more.

"Trust me, she's more cute and pretty when she's quiet." Kazuto gently rocked her against his chest.

"I have to go feed her now Yui. I'll see you later." Her father gently whispered.

"Okay, remember to take some pictures Papa." She giggled as the screen went blank.

Kazuto put the device back in his pocket.

After warming the full, cold plastic bottle and testing it on his skin, he gladly placed the teat in her mouth. "I'm a little surprised that Yui didn't get jealous. She can be pretty clingy at times." He smirked.

"You must be very special to her." He said while burping her. "She even thinks of you as a younger sister."

While hearing her ear-splitting screams several minutes later. The teenager was still able to maintain his calm demeanor, while swaddling and shushing into her ear. "You're a very good girl." He commented.

He put back in the bassinet and went to answer the door.

* * *

"Hi Kirito-kun." Asuna entered the apartment.

"Onee-san said you came here early. I talked with Rika and they're going coming soon." She pecked his cheek and walked into the living room. "I was getting worried when I found out that you were alone with her again. But it seems that you've proven me wrong." Asuna stroked the child's hair and face with her slender soft fingers as form of greeting herself.

"Like I said before, she and I are friends." Kazuto grinned.

He offered to take her school bag her which she kindly accepted.

The young couple both found themselves on the couch with a small distance in the middle of them. The awkward silence broke when the boy's phone vibrated on the coffee table. When he read the message that he had recieved, his face went from sightly shy, to his jaw dropping and turning red in colour.

When his girlfriend wanted to know what had happened to him and why his face looked like that, he showed her the message, and she unwittingly read the text aloud:

_Just a friendly reminder that this apartment is not a love-nest. So don't try to do anything. You're just too young._

Asuna covered her mouth, as her face had gotten a reddish hue that was quite similar to his. _I can't believe onee-san actually sent that!_ The girl managed to focus her herself, returning her face back into its natural colour tone.

"Delete. It. _Now_." She hissed at him.

"D-deleting." He shook his head like a bobble-head trying to forget it.

The door was this time answered by Asuna.

"Sorry we're late. That bus was took forever to come." Rika took off her shoes.

"Where's Suguha-san?" Keiko asked the older male, sounding a little disappointed.

"She'll be here, she just got held up at practice." Kazuto replied.

"Oh good." The cat lover regained her smile.

"So you _two_ were _here_. In _this_ apartment, _alone_. Without nobody else around to see you." Rika narrowed her eyes at the high school couple with a mischievous grin while raising an eyebrow.

"No, not...not exactly. I just came a few minutes ago myself." Asuna tried not blush. "And we weren't completely alone. Himeko-chan is still sleeping.

"So what I'm hearing in that you _did_ think of doing something." Rika gave a sly smile.

"No, not really." Asuna said in a calmer voice.

"Oh, give it a rest, Rika-san. We're just here to babysit and study for the time being." Keiko tried to change the subject matter.

"So since we're here, why not get started right now?" Kazuto suggested the activity.

"But it wouldn't be very fair to Suguha-chan then." Asuna debated her boyfriend's suggestion.

"Don't worry about that, it'll be fine. Last night she said that if she comes last and takes longer then we could go ahead get a little head-start before then." Kazuto handed Asuna her school bag. "And with the kid around, the only real chance to do some actual work would have to be right now."

The remaining three teenagers glanced at each other and reluctantly nodded in agreement.

* * *

The group was interrupted by the sound of short fast tapping coming from the door.

Suguha gave a big beaming grin as she saw all of their faces from the opened doorway. "Sorry...I, hope...I'm not too late." She spoke while taking deep slow breaths.

"Not at all, we were just about to start." Keiko passed her a cool glass of water.

"Did you _run_ all the way here?" Kazuto asked his exhausted looking younger cousin.

"No, the elevator was busy and taking forever. So I decided to climb the stairs instead." She guzzled down the colourless liquid. "I didn't want...to keep you waiting... any longer, because of me." She spoke in short breaths.

"You took all of those stairs while holding a backpack _and_ a shinai?" Rika's eyes widened.

"It's okay, I'm used to carrying this kind of weight." Suguha took off her shoes.

"That's _not_ something you should get used too." Asuna lectured her junior.

Unsettling ear piercing screams come from the bassinet. Asuna who was standing a few inches away from the it, tenderly picked up the bundle, communicating to it in a soft, gentle voice while circling her back in a slow pace.

They all take turns trying to make the crying stop through common methods that were unable to downside the noise.

"C'mon on, kid. Please stop and tell us what you need us to do to help you." Kazuto nearly begged while bouncing the infant in his arms.

"Does she need another changing?" Asuna asked.

"No, she's fine."

"Is she feeling too warm or cold?" Keiko shook the bell rattle near him.

"Her temperature feels normal."

"Is she hungry?" Rika continued to hold the plastic feeding bottle.

"I don't think so." Kazuto buried her face in his chest.

Without even a monet's notice, the boy felt a small, sticky, thick substance on the left side of his black buttoned shirt.

His comrades had either bit their lips turning them white or covering their mouths trying to contain their laughter.

"Looks like she's going to need another change after all." Suguha took her away from him and wiped her mouth with a damp kitchen cloth. He still stands in the same position and saw the girls take her back into the bedroom.

Kazuto checked the digital clock being displayed on the virtual screen on his laptop. He quickly takes out his cellphone for the second time and stops tapping on it, until a moving image of Yui popped up.

"What's going on, Papa?" The AI questioned him.

"I'll tell you about it later. How are you feeling right now?"

"I feel fine, the server is still undergoing its current maintenance session, but I'm still alright."

"Are you still able to hear me loud and clear?" He asked his daughter.

"Yes I can. However, due to the current lag that the game server is experiencing, not all of our current conversation is in one hundred percent syndication." She notified him.

"Alright, I'll keep that in mind. Are you sure that's the only thing bothering you right now?" He repeated the same question.

"That's all for right now, Papa." Her sweet voice chimed through the speaker.

"Okay, good."

"Papa?"

"Yes, Yui?"

"This application that you are working on, is it for a special occasion that both involves you and Mama?"

"Yeah, that's why I'm working extra hard on it. Take care of yourself. I'll see you later tonight."

"You and Mama take care of yourselves too." She spoke loudly through the speaker.

* * *

Kazuto was staring intensely at his notebook screen trying to come up with solutions to help fix any potential errors in his program design. The computer enthusiast felt his concentration slowly reaching depletion as he heard the sound of a group of girls giggling amongst themselves.

"It took the four of you _that_ long just to change her clothes?" His visual focus leaned toward the others.

"It's not easy trying to find something to match her up with. We dressed her up in a bunch of different clothes." Suguha replied.

"Match her up with what? She isn't going anywhere and she's _not_ a doll." Kazuto criticized.

"So that doesn't mean she still can't look nice." Keiko put Yumeko in her swing.

"What that's thing on her head?" He pointed to the soft blue head covering that was tied onto the infant's head.

"It's a bonnet. Isn't it just adorable?" Suguha stroked the clothing accessory.

"And we gave her a really good massage until she feel asleep again." Rika gave a further explanation.

"Did you already do that before?" The only boy asked them.

"So just because her mother is at a spa, doesn't mean she can't get any treatment." Asuna counter argued.

"Oh, you should have seen her, she had the most precious little yawn." Suguha said with a tiny squeak.

"We're so lucky to have such a pretty kitty for a niece." Keiko gleefully remarked.

"So much for being _great friends_ with her Kirito-kun." Asuna scoffed at her romantic partner.

"But we _are_ friends." He frowned.

"Hm, last time I checked, friends _don't_ throw up on other friends." Asuna sneered at him .

"Or _maybe_ we're such great _friends_ that _she_ wanted _me_ to comfort her, and didn't want _you_ to feel _bad_." He crossed his arms.

"Hey let's just forget about all of his nonsense before she wakes up again. Suguha spoke in a mellow whisper. "We should really get started now. There isn't much time left."

"I can already feel Himeko-chan's AOE skill status go up." Keiko reached for her book bag.

"Now I know what you meant by that warning you gave me, Sugu." Kazuto stretched his arms and legs still holding the portable computer on his lap.

"It looks like a certain someone's level earned some extra points." Rika sat next to Asuna on the floor.

"Whatever we don't get done here, we'll just meet up later at the inn room online." Asuna gave the instruction.

"Good idea, we can just get Yui-chan to do it for us." Rika snickered.

Hearing that Asuna pinched Rika's arm.

"Geez, someone's protective." The burnette rubbed the affected area.

* * *

Kazuto stroked Yumeko's face with his knuckle as she was soundly sleeping.

He turned his neck sideways only to observe his fellow online players had fall victim to the room's calming atmosphere and fallen asleep as aswell.

The teenager let out a small sigh as lips landed on the infant's forehead and slowly unfastens the bonnet that was covering the sight of her ears and hair from his eyes.

He applies a little bit of pressure onto her ears, rubbing his thumbs and forefingers against them. Then, he pulls his mouth his mouth closer to her left ear. "I know what your real name is, but your still my Yumemi-chan. What do you think about that?" He whispered softly and with great comfort and affection. He resumes his undivided attention and watches her sleeping peacefully.

He noticed something very different about his niece immediately.

The teenager felt his heartbeat undergo a slow rise in movement. He began to blink away the rupturing salty water nearly coming out from his black irises as there were other people around him. The boy hadn't the slightest similar feeling like this since he reunited with Yui in that other world, many months ago.

That 'challenge' that he had silently committed to himself during his solo hospital that day wasn't a competition that he had with someone else, nor was it a simple topic that was randomly inserted in effort to further that conversation he was having with her mother.

It was a _vow_. That was now completed and a story from the past.

Kazuto took out the camera from a compartment in his bag and found a suitable angle.

After commemorating the milestone accomplishment into a digital screen, he strokes her face in the same manner as before and gently presses his two lips against her face in several different areas.

He takes out his cellphone from his pocket and opens up to the note-taking application and taps on the screen:

_Fill caption option with... Yumeko's First Smile._

He blankly stares at the electronic note as images from the past memory came forth to reemerge in his eyes.

* * *

***Flashback starts***

_**July 27th, 2025** _

Kazuto was sitting in his chair.

He momentarily felt puzzled, skeptical and yet hopeful all at the same time trying to make sense of it all.

_Did I hear her right? Bringing Yui...here? In this world, living with me and Asuna? Even with today's outstanding technological progress and research. AI's are still one of the most complex topics to get by in computer science field..._

"Kirigaya-kun, are you alright?" The caring feminine voice called out to him.

He eyes followed the repetitive directions as he witnesses that hand swayed from one side to next.

The student opens his dried up lips making a small slightly audible sound. "How? How could I repay you for helping me?

Rinko smiled at him. "You're helping me with _my_ daughter so I'm going to be helping you with _yours_."

_How could I help Yumemi? I'm too scared to do anything right now. But what about after she get discharged from here? Think. Think. Think._ He gritted his teeth.

Kazuto takes a deep, slow breathe and tries to focus his vision on the miniature figure in the plexiglass structure, but in the end looks onto the floor instead. He clenched his cold hands into tight fists but releases them.

He looks at the mother next to him with determination in his black eyes.

"She may smile with her heart, but I'm going to make her smile with her mouth."

_***Flashback ends*  
** _

* * *

_Time is going by too fast but too slow at the same time. And we all won't be together for as along as we want to._ Kazuto wordlessly reflected in his own mind.

"I love you very much, Yumemi-chan. Please don't forget that." Kazuto spoke into her ear.

* * *

**Thank you very much for the support! Please comment (anons are accepted). :)**


	16. Gift

**I do not own or have any affiliations with SAO. I apologize for any spelling/grammatical errors and/or missing words. This is from my account on fanfiction.net.**

* * *

**Chapter 16: Gift**

**Tuesday September 30th, 2025**

The sunlight sparked a great shine through the transparent window hitting in several small spots of the large bedroom.

The charging cell phone produced multiple vibrations waking up the sleeping beauty in the bed next to the night-table.

She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and blinked as they were adjusting to the invading natural outdoor lighting.

Asuna checks her phone and smiles at all of the birthday wishes that she had received from her friends.

Her look changes from happiness to curiosity when she read the one that her boyfriend sent her:

_Morning! Hurry up and check your email and please follow the instructions._

"Instructions?" She mumbled to herself and logged into her inbox.

She clicked on the piece of mail with the subject line called _The First Part_.

_He sent me this when!? That dummy, he may even sleep through his morning classes._ She sighed and folded her arms on her chest.

After going through the provided guidelines very carefully, she connects her phone to her computer terminal via cable link.

As she read further on, she found an file link with a strange label attached to it and a dialogue box appeared:

**[Execute YNP2025.exe?]**

Agreeing to download the extension file, she clicked on it.

The final instructions were to not log onto any internet connection using the cellular device until she sees him during their planned lunch hour date in the school's courtyard. The sentence ended with a smiley face emoticon.

_What so important that I can't use it right now? What did I download just now? And why does it have this kind of title?_ The rest of her thoughts escaped her mind when another line said to hurry and get ready before her mother started calling her.

"Kya!" The girl gasped and logged off of the account and the machine as she realized that she had to be downstairs and eating her breakfast in less time that her regular morning time routine typically allowed her.

* * *

She ascended down the staircase in a rushed pace.

"It's about time you _showed up_." Her mother was sitting at the table with a cup of coffee in front of her.

"I'm sorry Mother. I slept in." Asuna dishonestly excused herself.

"That doesn't matter. At least you didn't need to be dragged down." Asuna's father came into the dining room.

"Happy Birthday sweetheart." The former CEO tenderly wrapped his daughter into his arms around her and kissed her forehead.

"Thank you, Father." Asuna smiled and went near a dining chair.

"That adult friend of yours sent you a little something. A card came with it." Her mother gave the medium-sized box to her daughter.

"Oh, how is that daughter of hers doing?" Her father kindly asked.

"She's doing very well. We're all very proud of her." She smiled.

Asuna carefully opened the envelope and read the card. _Here's a little something from your Big Sis. Have a good one._

The teenager pulled on the soft red ribbon and ripped and folded the wrapping paper then, uncover of a small somewhat heavy fixture rolled under multiple layers of bubble wrap. She looked through the glass flip top canister jar that was filled assorted cookies.

The birthday girl sat down and ate the ready-made breakfast sitting on the pristine tablecloth.

Then she carried a small picnic basket filled with her homemade sandwiches, bottled drinks alongside a few napkins.

Perhaps because of the cosmic universal force that she was bestowed upon on her waking moment comes on one's birthday, the girl was able to get into the car on time as usual without a minute too soon.

* * *

On her way to her first morning period class, Asuna heard her name being called twice from behind. The student stopped in her path, rotated herself and looked for the source of it.

"Happy Birthday." Rika and Keiko seemed to have appeared in thin air.

"Suguha-san, you were off-key again." Keiko spoke into the mobile phone's loudspeaker.

"Sorry about that. I'm not getting a very good signal over here." Her voice came through.

"That's okay, Suguha-chan. That text message you sent earlier was good enough." Asuna spoke up.

"So did you get any presents this morning?" Keiko asked.

Asuna nodded. "Onee-san sent me some cookies."

"For real? Were they good?" Rika asked with a hint of anticipation.

Asuna shrugged her shoulders. "I was a little late getting downstairs. So I didn't have any time to try one of them. But I took a picture."

"That sounds great. I can't wait when I... I mean when _onii-chan_ gets _his_ next week." Suguha spoke.

"Gee, I wonder how mine will look like." Keiko said excitedly.

Rika hit Keiko with a light jab on the arm. "Your gonna find out next Friday."

"Have you two seen Kirito-kun?" Asuna asked them.

Both girls shook their heads.

"Why do you ask?" Keiko looked at the older girl.

"No reason. I was just wondering." She replied.

The ringing of the first morning bell made the students and staff members walk faster to their designated rooms.

Suguha ended her call and the trio of friends stopped talking to each other and separated going to different directions of the long school hallways.

_I wonder how Kirito-kun is feeling right now._ Asuna sat in the middle of the room. She sighed to herself as took out the tablet-type computer from her school bag as more people showed up in the room and the teacher begins to administer the lesson of the day.

* * *

Asuna walked to the plain wooden bench near the beautiful rose garden.

She inhaled the fresh air while rays of sunlight trickling through the partly cloudy sky.

All of a sudden, she felt something or rather someone cover her hazel eyes with their hands.

"Happy Birthday Asuna." A male voice laughed and sat right next to her.

"Thank you very much Kirito-kun." She smiled.

"So how was your morning?" She gave him a napkin and one of the sandwiches.

"It was okay I guess. The thought of eating your irrestible cooking helped a lot." He said in between bites.

She rolled her eyes at the compliment.

"Did you do that thing I told you to do this morning?"

"You mean download that file? I did."

"Great." He grinned.

"So is it okay for me to connect the internet onto my phone now?" She passed one of the drinks.

"Well...you could...if..." Kazuto took two large sips.

"If?" Asuna looked at him.

"If I hadn't forgetten to bring a cable wire with me..." He stretched his words.

"Honestly Kirito-kun. You can be so clueless sometimes." She frowned

Kazuto clasped his together begging for her forgiveness .

She grew tired of the act and surrendered.

"But why did you need to bring a cable wire in the first place?" She took a sip of her own drink.

"So I could connect it with my phone and give you the latest updated version." He explained to her.

"Updated version?" Asuna looked at him curiously.

Kazuto nodded. "Yeah with some more help I got from onee-sensei, I was able to tweak a couple of bugs during my spare time that I got in my classes."

_What does onee-san have to do with this?_ Asuna wondered to herself. "So you programmed an entire extension file just for me?"

"Of course I did. It's your birthday after all... I just wanted to something special."

Sensing his guilt, Asuna rested her hand on his knee. "Why won't I come buy your house later and you could give that update for me there?"

"That sounds like a good idea." He agreed to the suggestion.

"So it's settle then. What do you want me to bring over?" She asked.

Asuna walked up to the front door and immediately noticed that there was no car parked in the driveway.

A young girl with short girl opened the door. "Happy Birthday." She greeted in an excited tone.

Asuna giggled. "You don't have to keep on wishing me, Suguha-chan. The text and the call were plenty enough." The older girl entered inside.

"If a birthday wish is not made face-to-face, then it is not made personal." Suguha lifted her hand as if reciting a legally binding oath.

They both go into the kitchen where Suguha took out a small plate, a chocolate cupcake, a candle and a lighter. Then she calls Kazuto to come downstairs.

After the scruffy black-haired teenager came down in his home clothes, Asuna blew away the small flame burning on the single candle, making a wish.

"Onii-chan, I think _now_ would be a good time to give her the _rest_ of her present." Suguha nudged him.

"Yeah, you're right." Kazuto took Asuna's hand and went upstairs into his bedroom.

* * *

Asuna curiously sat on the mattress observing her boyfriend's actions the very second she handed her phone over to him.

Within a few minutes the electronic device was soon in her rightful possession.

"You can try opening it now." He informed her.

Asuna pressed on the application icon and the screen went black until the floating moving image of a pixie came out of nowhere.

"Mama, can you see and hear me clearly?" A familiar small voice called out from the speaker.

"Yes, I can Yui-chan." Auna answered the question.

"Will you be logging in the game tonight?" Yui asked.

"Yes, I will." Asuna sniffled.

"I can't wait!" The AI happily chimed.

"Neither can I. I'll be logging in very soon. Goodbye for now."

"Goodbye Mama."

The screen went blank again.

Asuna placed her phone beside her. She lowered her head and shut her eyes tightly. She used a hand to wipe away a stream of salty water exiting from her right cheek.

The girl suddenly felt a hand brush her long, strawberry blonde hair. "Happy Birthday Asuna."

"Thank you Kirito-kun." She looked up to his face.

"So this means that I can talk to her whenever I fell like?"

Kazuto nodded.

The young couple continue talk for a little while and the male student mentioned his future plans about creating a probing device that will help their virtual reality daughter grant access into the real world in real world standard time. The conversation ended when Asuna received a phone call from her mother ordering her to come back home so they could she cut her cake after dinner.

After eating with her parent and older brother who made it back home just in time to give his younger sister an expensive gift and wish her. Asuna ran inside her bedroom and had a quick change of clothing and laid comfortably in her own bed wearing her AmuShphere.

* * *

"Link start!"

In a few moments, she found herself floating alone in mid-air. Her blue hair bouncing in the beautiful cool wind as her wings begin to pick up speed.

Her body was soaring gracefully, gliding in the seemingly endless virtual sky.

Alas the time came where she had no choice but to land on the cold, hard ground surface as she grew closer to the inn.

Walking within the narrow hallway, she stopped at her room, moving the door handle, the Undine race player entered the vastly magnificent beautiful room.

Out of nowhere, the body of small person flung her arms around the blue haired avatar.

Both of their artificially simulated hair colour blended together for a single moment.

"Happy Birthday Mama." The AI chimed in her sweet voice and briefly nuzzled into the online player's chest.

"Thank you very much, Yui-chan." Asuna hugged the full-body version of her adopted daughter.

She glances at the other smiling colourful players who were occupying the room and thanks them for being able to make it in time despite their around-the clock schedules in the real world.

This was simply the first of the many birthdays that this online family would have the honor of spending together.

* * *

**Thank you very much for reading! Please comment, anons are welcomed as well! :)**


	17. Giving

**I don't own or have any affiliations with Sword Art Online. I apologize for any spelling/grammatical errors and/or missing words. This is from my fanfiction.net account.**

* * *

**Chapter 17: Giving**

Kazuto woke up to the feeling of silent vibrations coming from his charging cellphone sitting next to him.

The effeminate young man yawned and stretched his arms.

He looked around the plainly decorated bedroom and realized that he was not in his comfortable warm bed but in a large black leather computer seat wearing camouflaging dear pajamas.

"That was some night." He groaned and rubbed his eyes open.

Knowing that his girlfriend would wake awaking up about then, he sends her a quick message telling her to check her email inbox.

"I better get down there before she calls me down." The tired school-boy rose from his seat and stiffly walked out to the bathroom.

After getting himself ready and dressed in his school uniform, he went downstairs in the kitchen to make his breakfast.

"Good morning onii-chan." Suguha greeted her older cousin.

"Morning." Kazuto grumbled and took out a plate and placed two slices of bread into the toaster.

"You pulled another all-nighter for her present _again_ didn't you?"

Kazuto lazily nodded to her question. "What made you think that?"

"I guess you can call it _woman's intuition_."

Kazuto glared at her. "You're _not_ old enough to have that yet."

The girl rolled her eyes and changed the current subject matter at hand. "That's the _second_ time you pulled one this week." Suguha opened another cupboard.

"Yeah, but at least I made the deadline for now." He got a small, round container of margarine and a butter knife when he heard the toaster pop up.

"Try not to sleep online, ok? It's get distracting when we girls are trying to talk to each other." She teased him. "So you finally sent her that email with the file huh?" The school-girl sat down with a plated and porcelain cup with steam seeping through the top of the wide rim.

"I thought it would take forever, but I did it." Kazuto took out a carton of juice.

"What time did you go to sleep?" She asked him.

"It was around 3 AM. And I fell asleep in my chair." He rubbed his forehead.

"Well, at least that's earlier that your first one."

"I don't care. I'm still tired." He grumbled.

"Geez, someone's feeling a little grouchy this morning." She said with a little laugh.

" _Don't_ push it." He took a bite out of her breakfast.

"Hey! That's _mine_." Suguha pouted like a little girl and crossed her arms on her chest.

"I need the energy to help me stay awake."

"Then eat your _own_ food. I swear you can be so annoying sometimes." She muttered and glanced a sharp glare towards him.

"Sounds like someone _doesn't_ want a ride on a _kickass_ motorbike this morning." Kazuto teased as his mood got a little better.

"Hey, wait a minute! I'm the reason _why_ you have the bike in the first place." Her face got reddish tint in her natural colour.

" _And_ I'm the reason why you don't go on a crowded bus every morning." He debated her statement.

After taking in some deep breathes Suguha regains her cheerful composure.

"Did you send Asuna a message when you woke up?" He asked her.

"Of course I did. What about you?" She replied and put away her dirty dishes.

"Well, sorta. In a way..."

"What do you mean by that?" She looked at him.

He unlocked his phone, opens up to the message log and passed it onto her and waits for her reaction.

Suguha reads the unorthodox wording in the text box and frowned. "You can't something like that on your girlfriend's birthday. That doesn't even the words happy birthday written in it. Are you insane?"

"What's wrong with it? It's simple and to the point." He looked at her with a confused look on her face.

" _Simple and to the point?_ All you wrote was wishing her a good morning and told her to go check her email and follow what it says. It's an _instruction within an instruction_."

"But I wished her in the email." He took back his phone.

Suguha palm-faced herself. "You really _are_ hopeless. You managed to give her a one-of-a-kind present and you practically almost ruined it by sending her that text."

"Hey we should get going if we want to be at school on time." He looked at his watch.

"Way to change the subject. I _completely_ forgot what we were talking about just now. _Very subtle_." The girl spoke in sarcastic tone and clap then straightened up her uniform.

"Do you want a ride or not?"

* * *

The exhausted student stood in front of an old-fashioned coin operated vending machine.

He picked up the slender, colourful aluminum canned energy drink and chugged it down as fast he could with choking due to the rule of a very limited amount of food or beverages being allowed in classrooms during teaching and student studying sessions.

_Why do I have this feeling like I'm forgetting something really important..._ The thought made him feel slightly frustrated.

Kazuto wipes off his mouth with his dark blue blazer cuff and begins to quicken his walking speed to his scheduled first class as he heard the first bell of the morning chime echoed through every square inch of the massive three storey building.

The student thankfully managed to make it with a few minutes to spare and sat in the second row facing a the electroluminescent panel located in the front of the room. _I wonder if she's getting worried about me._ He thought about his girlfriend.

The boy takes out his tablet personal computer as the teacher who is standing in front of the students turns on the LED projector.

Kazuto puts his bag on his knees and nonchalantly rummages through the other storage compartments. _Aw, shit! I did forget something!_

He slouched in his desk chair and sighed. _Its gonna be a long class_.

* * *

Kazuto walks down the path to the same plain wooden bench that he and his girlfriend have sat on a handful of times before.

He stops his trail of footsteps as soon as he notices that the girl laid her head in a backwards stance on the bench looking up at the partly cloudy sky.

_Looks like it time go to wish a certain someone._ A mischievous grin grew on his face.

He takes slow dragging steps and stands behind the girl with long shining hair and covers her eyes using this hands.

"Happy Birthday." He laughed and sat down right beside her.

"How are you feeling Kirito-kun?" Asuna's voice had a warm tone.

"Much better now that you're here." He settled his bag down.

Asuna rolled her eyes after he said that cheesy line.

"How were your classes this morning?" She gives him a sandwich.

"They were okay I guess. Kind of dragging though." He took a bite. "So Suguha told me that you got a special gift in the morning."

Asuna nodded. "Onee-san sent me some cookies and a card. But I wasn't able to try one because I needed of my father. He has a giant sweet tooth." She then told him a short story which ended up with her mother keeping a secret place in her study.

"So did you download that thing I told you to do earlier?" Kazuto asked.

"You mean that file? I did."

"Great." He grinned.

"Well since I have it with me, is it alright to connect to the wifi network with my phone?"

"Well, you...could if..." He stammered.

"If?" She looked at him.

"If I haven't...forgotten to bring a cable wire with me." He bit his lips.

Asuna frowned at him with cold eyes.

"I'm sorry I know I screwed up. Please don't look at me like that." He clasped his hands and begged for mercy.

Growing tired of the act, the girl gave a sigh. "It's fine. We all make mistakes."

"What do you need a cable wire for in the first place?" She asked.

"I fixed some leftover errors in-between classes. I have to admit it wasn't easy." The computer enthusiast replied.

"Tell you what. How about I come over to your house later today and I'll give the update then. Should I bring something with me?" She suggested.

"Nothing, just you." He gives her a playful wink.

They continue to talk about smaller more casual topics until the bell's whimsical chime sang around the educational institute indicating that the end of the lunch period.

* * *

Kazuto rides his motorbike to the closet convenience store near the Kirigaya residence after picking Suguha up from her school.

He instantly runs upstairs to his bedroom hanging up his school uniform.

He flops onto his bed wearing comfortable home clothes, trying to take a small nap before his girlfriend comes by.

The teenager's brief pleasant sleep was disturbed when heard his cell phone buzzing.

It was a text message from Rinko.

**Rinko: Did you give her your present?**

**Kazuto: She downloaded it, but I'm giving her the update of it in a little while.**

**Rinko: Update?**

**Kazuto: Yeah, I fixed some stuff during my classes.**

**Rinko: Does she know what it is yet?**

**Kazuto: I told her not to connect it to any wifi. So I guess not.**

**Rinko: How will she react to it?**

**Kazuto: Well, she may start crying, or punch me for keeping this a secret for this long. My girl's full of surprises.**

**Rinko: Hope it turns out good.**

**Kazuto: Same.**

**Rinko: What time did you go to bed?**

**Kazuto: I actually fell asleep on my chair around 3am...**

**Rinko: Again!? That's the 2nd time this week! A kid shouldn't be up so late! At least you made to the bed before.**

**Kazuto: So I've heard.**

**Rinko: You should be asleep with your teeth brushed and homework done by 10pm!**

**Kazuto: Wow that's such MOM thing to say...**

**Rinko: What do you think I am!?**

**Kazuto: Ok, I'll do just that...**

**Rinko: Good! You should get some sleep for now. I'll see you when I login tonight.**

**Kazuto: Login?**

**Rinko: To ALO.**

**Kazuto: But what about Yumemi?**

**Rinko: Relax, she'll be fine. I have other friends you know!**

**Kazuto: Ok see you later then.**

**Rinko: Love ya little bro!**

"Onii-chan she's here!" He heard Suguha shouting from the lower level of the house.

The boy sighed as he separated from the warmth and comfortable of the bed and blanket from his slim body.

He walks down the stairs hearing two female voice having a conversation with one another.

"Hi Kirito-kun." His visiting girlfriend smiled.

Kazuto nodded.

Suguha lit the small birthday candle. "Here make a wish."

Asuna pulled her hair back and blew as hard as she could until the beautiful, burning ember extinguished leaving behind nothing but a whiff of smoke in the air.

"What did you wish for?" Kazuto asked.

Suguha shook her head in annoyance.

Asuna rolled her eyes at the only male present in the household. "If I tell you it may not come true." She teased.

"Onii-chan, I think _now_ would be a good time to go back upstairs and give her the rest of the present she has been patiently waiting for _all_ day for." Suguha spoken words were in a slower pace than usual.

* * *

Kazuto sat at his desk typing on his keyboard looking at only one out of the three monitors on his self-made desktop PC. After detaching the cable wire from his computer central unit, he gives the cell phone back to the owner. "Here, try it."

Asuna who was feeling both nervous and reluctant at the time tapped on the application icon.

Kazuto was sitting calmly in his chair while hearing a high-pitched feminine voice coming from the electronic.

"Mama, can you hear and see me clearly?" The voice asked.

"Yes I can, Yui-chan."

"Will you be logging in tonight?" The AI questioned.

"Of course I will. I wouldn't miss it for anything in the world." Asuna sniffled.

"I can't wait." Yui replied.

"Neither can I. I'll be seeing you later. Goodbye for now."

"Goodbye Mama."

Seeing tears run down the face of his romantic partner, the teenager gently pressed his hand on her long strawberry blonde hair. "Happy Birthday Asuna."

"Thank you, Kirito-kun." She looked up at his face and stared into his black eyes with her red puffy ones. "Why... Why did you do this?" She wiped her face.

"I figured since this is the first birthday that were sharing together as a couple, I'd so something special."

"So this means I can speak with her whenever I want?"

Kazuto nodded. "This is only the first part of the plans I have."

"What do you mean?" She gave a curious look.

He then tells her about his future plans of creating a communication probing device that will initially give Yui access to the real world and vocally interact with while she is in the virtual world and vice versa.

He said goodbye to her on his doorstep and wishes her a safe trip back home.

"I'll be logging in a bit. There's some stuff I gotta check on first." His cousin took a bite in one of the leftover cupcakes from before.

"The party's gonna be in our inn room." He reminded her.

"Yeah, yeah I remember." She said as they parted ways.

Kazuto quickly went back into his bedroom and wore his NerveGear helmet. "Link start!"

When he opened his eyes his conscience was transported in a beautiful wooden themed room inside the magical fairy universe of ALfheim Online and was dressed in his Spriggan avatar attire.

* * *

"Papa when is Mama going to log in? It's late evening in the real world." Yui sounded anixous.

"Don't worry about that Yui. Just focus on being excited for the party." Her adopted father told her.

"How old is Mama in the real world?"

"She's 18 now..."

"Then how old are you, Papa?"

"I turn 17 next week."

"So that means that Mama is older than you are in the real world?"

"She is..." Kirito made an awkward smile.

"But I thought you already know that."

The floating pixie sadly shook her head. "In order to maintain strict confidential productivity measures, all of the player logs in the company's database system are being guarded by multiple security codes that changed frequently so certain incidents taking place in the real world may be prevented. As good as I am at firewall penetration, even if I try to break through only a handful of them as fast as I can, my total chances of success are still slim."

Kirito patted Yui's small head with his finger regretting his question. "You don't want Asuna to feel worried with your face looking like that, right Yui?" He attempted to change her facial features.

"Not on her special day!"

The guests came in little by little thankfully there was still space left even after the forming crowd settled down.

Yui was happily flying around and observing the small talk coming from the every corner of the current environment setting.

In a sudden movement, the navigation pixie hurriedly sat on Kirito's shoulder. "What is it Yui?"

"She's coming. I can sense her player data." Yui happily grinned.

The door opened revealing a female water-based avatar took a step inside.

An over excited full-body version of Yui jumped on Asuna.

"Happy Birthday Mama." The navigation pixie chimed.

"Thank you very much Yui-chan."

Kirito looked at the female Undine player being with the full-sized version of the couple's adopted daughter together. The dark clothed avatar smiled at the fact that this is only the first of many birthdays this small online family will spend together.

* * *

The next morning, Kazuto woke up hearing the sound of heavy raindrops hitting his bedroom window.

Before going to sleep hours ago, the local news weather broadcast said they were under a severe rainstorm watch.

Then the high school student goes onto his school's official website and discovers due to the onset weather conditions classes were cancelled for the day.

He felt his phone vibrate and checks the message that Asuna sent him:

**Asuna: My wish came true!**

**Kazuto: What are you talking about?**

**Asuna: You mean you haven't figured it out yet?**

**Kazuto: Figured what out?**

**Asuna: *sigh* Last night I wished that you would some time to sleep in.**

Kazuto's eyes widened in surprise at this.

**Kazuto: Thank you!**

**Asuna: Haha. Go back to sleep. I'll see you later!**

**Kazuto: I love you!**

**Asuna: I love you too. Bye!**

Putting his phone back on the night-table, the happy teenager inhaled and exhaled, then closed his eyes for a _very_ well deserved rest.

* * *

**Thank you for reading! Leave a comment if you want and anons are welcomed. :)**


	18. Plans

**I do not own or have any affiliation with Sword Art Online. I apologize for any spelling/grammatical errors and/or missing words. This is from my Fanfiction.net account.**

* * *

**Chapter 18: Plans**

**Saturday, December 20th, 2025 - Dicey Cafe 2:00 p.m.**

Asuna, Keiko, Suguha, Rika, Shino and Kazuto were all sitting together at the same booth table.

"Shino-san, you're going to absolutely fall in love with our Himeko-chan." Keiko cheerfully squeaked. "And onee-san's super amazing."

"I'm excited to meet them both." Shino flashed a laid back smile enjoying listening to the rest of the speak.

When she was younger Asada Shino secretly craved for to be around other people whom she could feel safe and secure with, ever since that bank robbery that left her being a social outcast, haunting her for years. Then one day while full-diving in her personal sanctuary of Gun Gale Online, the elite virtual gunslinger met an avatar with the game handle of Kirito. Meeting this peculiar and rather feminine resembling character led her sharing the title of winners of the third Bullet of Bullets tournament. Eventually, leading her unexpected involvement in the Death Gun incident, and nearly getting player-killed in real life by the same person who introduced the game from the very beginning.

"Kirito-kun, how is everything?" Asuna called out to her boyfriend.

Kazuto extended his thumb and smiled. "Can you see and hear me clearly?" He spoke into his phone speaker.

"Yes, but your voice is a little loud, Papa." Yui's voice answered.

"Oh, my bad." He apologized and lowered the volume.

The boy walked in different areas of his friend's cafe. "How about now?" Kazuto asked.

"All clear, both audio and visuals." The virtual being notified.

"We're good to go." Kazuto grinned.

Agil high-fived the teenager. "This app of yours is really impressive." The bartender commented.

The bell of the cafe's front door ringed and a couple came inside with the woman holding a carseat and the man closing the door behind them.

"Hey Net Geners, she fell asleep in the car so try to be careful?" Rinko gently placed the carrier on the floor, taking out her daughter.

"You must be Asada Shino." Rinko gave a duchenne smile and sat down.

The new girl's face gave a slight blush and then nodded in response.

The infant wakes up on her own, making the teenaged females show more excitement on their faces. However, the young child buried her face in her mother's chest after seeing Shino's face. The mother apologized to the rest about her young one's shyness.

"Please don't take it personally Sinonon. She does it to a lot of us too, but even more with Kirito-kun." Asuna assured her.

"It's fine. I expected this to happen." Shino smiled comfortably.

"Yumemi, do you remember me?" Kazuto stood near the mother/daughter pairing.

"Hello Rinko-san, how are you feeling today?" Yui politely asked the woman.

"I'm fine. Thank you for asking." Rinko replied and laid Yumeko's head on her shoulder.

"Papa, can you move a bit to the right? You're sort of blocking my view of my baby." Yui requested.

Moving sideways Kazuto held his phone several inches from the tot's face.

"How are you, Yumeko-chan?" Yui calmly questioned her 'little cousin'.

Yumeko covers her face with her mother's shoulder.

Rinko bit her lips. "I'm very sorry about that Yui-chan. She's shy around others."

"That's okay. I felt a bit shy when I first met Papa and Mama. If you want, I can search an article and or a book for you online right now." Yui offered.

"Thank you for your kind offer, but you just enjoy your visit." Rinko kindly rejected the idea.

"Papa, can you bring your phone closer to her ear please?"

Kazuto cautiously drew the device closer to the small ear.

"Yumeko-chan, I love you very much." Yui whispered.

The infant slowly raised her head and looks at the handheld object.

Kazuto patted her head and smiled.

"She looks different from when I last saw her." The AI observed.

"Now that you mentioned it, she does look a little _bigger_." After saying that, Kazuto felt his head and neck being wrapped around someone's arm. "Are you calling my smallest girl fat?" Klein spoke up.

"I didn't mean like that. It's just that she grew...a lot." The teenager's voice lowered in volume.

"He's not wrong. I had to buy her some new clothes because she started to outgrow her old ones." Rinko defended him.

"If you don't mind me asking, what are her ages?" The questioning voice belonged to Shino.

"Her actual age is 7 months and 18 days but her adjusted age is only 4 months and 10 days." Rinko explained to her.

"I see." Shino looked at the child.

The girls told her about Yumeko's overwhelming medical history while playing in ALO.

"She usually doesn't look at anyone else longer than two minutes." Rika pointed out.

Yumeko stretched her hand in Shino's direction.

"It looks like someone wants to introduce herself." Suguha nudged the girl sitting next to her.

Rinko passed on her daughter to the calm black-haired female.

A luminescent blush came on her face as the small body laid on her chest. Shino has a cheek-to-cheek moment while gently fondling the baby's pudgy face. The infant squeals in pure, innocent delight.

"She's never liked anyone this quickly before." Rinko ruffled Shino's hair.

Yumeko plants her small lips and began to suckle on her new aunt's cheek.

"She's quite affectionate." The girl gave an accidental snort with laughter.

"Just when I thought I was her special person." Rinko giggled and slid a pacifier into Yumeko's mouth.

"Told you that our gray kitten is amazing." Keiko winked.

"I never doubted your judgment." Shino bounced the child in her knee when the kisses stopped.

"Papa, the screen turned darker." Yui warned him.

Kazuto returned to his home screen and then reopened the application window. "My battery is getting low."

"That's okay. I'll just transfer myself to Mama's phone instead."

Kazuto nodded and returned put the device back in his pocket as Asuna was loading her copy onto hers.

"This is a much better view then before." Yui spoke in a cheery tone.

"Can someone please get me close to her again?" The AI repeated the previous request.

Asuna passed her phone to Suguha who was sitting next to Shino.

"Is this a good enough angle?" Suguha asked.

"It's perfect." Yui thanked her.

Shino continued to stare at a sleeping Yumeko's face, as she rested on her shoulder. Suddenly the infant let out a whimper and start to kicking her feet. The girl carefully returned her to Rinko.

"She is okay?" Rika whispered in a worried voice.

"She's having a bad dream." Suguha whispered back.

Yumeko let out a cry waking herself up.

"Your voice sounds lovely as always, Himeko-chan." Rika murmured softly.

Rinko cradled her daughter and apologized to Shino. "She's not prone to hit anyone, especially in her sleep." The elder rubbed the girl's black hair.

"I know that, she has a gentle soul." The girl replied calmly. "I bought her a little gift." She went under the table to get a bag and took out a small picture book from her childhood.

Rinko looked a little embarrassed about accepting the keepsake but the latter convinced her anyhow with some assistance by the witnesses of the act.

* * *

The conversation between the table occupants escalated to talking about their personal plans.

Rika revealed her desire to study engineering at university. Keiko expressed her thoughts of becoming of a veterinarian. Shino mentioned her idea of one day being a policewoman. Suguha aspired to continue to practice kendo at the high school level. Kazuto's answer was obvious. Asuna said that she was still thinking of one.

"I wonder what Himeko-chan will grow up into." Shino stroked the sleeping child's face.

"I wouldn't be surpised if she grew up to a _model_." Suguha chortled.

"Just picture _all_ of those _young_ eager _suitors_ lining up _one by one_ waiting for her at the doorstep." Keiko playfully joked.

"I'm going to have to conduct _plenty_ of interviews." Rinko laughed.

Kazuto and Klein choked on their drinks overhearing them.

"Like _hell you are_." They jumped up from their bar stool.

The females giggle collectively.

"Mama, what's a model?" Yui's voice came through Asuna's mobile phone terminal.

"A model is something that she will never _ever_ be." Kazuto gave his answer.

Asuna gave him an unpleasant stare and cleared her throat. "A model is when a beautiful person takes lots of pictures and gets famous for taking them."

Yui requested for the phone to be in Kazuto's hand. "Papa, I don't understand why are you against my baby for being a model? Yumeko-chan is very beautiful." The small voice sounded oddly confrontational.

"Because... I don't want boys to look at her with...unpleasant thoughts. And as a male I should prevent that as much as possible."

" _Damn straight_." Klein and Agil second the notion.

Asuna swiped back her phone. "Do you have any more questions you need help with Yui-chan?"

"Mama, where do babies come from?" The innocent voice came through the speaker.

The question took everyone off-guard, especially the young high-school couple who were sitting beside each other. In a manga, the two characters would be coloured in chalky white, while their jaws dropped and other physical features would be drawn in thick, black lines.

"W-what d-do you mean Yui?" Kazuto stumbled on his words.

"I mean _how_ do you get a baby?" Yui's question continued.

Asuna's face turned red in embarrassment as Kazuto's jaw dropped again.

The snickering coming from the table and the nearby bar counter weren't helping the two on the current subject matter.

Watching the two minors look conflicted Rinko flicked a small piece of folded paper from her diary into the male's direction.

As Kazuto opened it, he breathed a sigh of relief and showed it to his girlfriend. Asuna cleared her throat and took a second glance at the manuscription. "Babies come from love, Yui-chan."

"Really? That's it? Are you sure?" Yui's questions spit-fired.

"Would I be lying to you if it wasn't?" Asuna winked.

"But, one thing is still bothering me."

"What's that Yui?" Kazuto asked.

" _How_ do babies come into the _real world_?"

The couple flabbergasted facial reactions returned as the bystanders tried to contain more of their laughter.

Asuna bit her lips and spoke. "They come from mother's love." The 18-year-old proudly answered. "This love is what we humans call a pregnancy."

"What's does _pregnancy_ mean?" Yui asked.

It was Kazuto's turn to answer. "It's when a mother has one or more children inside of her, for nine months."

"That sounds like a very long time." The AI awed. "Mama, didn't you say something about Yumeko-chan not being like the most of them?"

Everybody's eyes widened.

The students look at their elder sister figure worried.

Rinko swallowed as a dull pain came to her chest but it slowly disappeared as she looked down at the short body resting in her arms.

Asuna blinked and moved her drying lips. "That's...correct. She isn't like most. In fact she is very, very special."

"She's very special to me too. She's _my_ baby after all." Yui chimed.

* * *

Then, the virtual extraterrestrial her 'mother' that the phone battery was depleting, therefore bid everyone adieu.

"Onee-san, I'm deeply sorry about Yui's questions. It's just that, she can get a little excited sometimes." Asuna sounded guilty.

"It's alright, you can't blame such a unique person for being curious. Especially, when she has so much love for her." Rinko was calmly smiling.

"She's been sleeping so nicely." Rika commented.

"So how does she like the co-sleeping in bed with you?" Keiko asked.

"She still wakes during the night, but she's a really deep sleeper. Whenever we go she falls asleep instantly." The mother warmly caressed her daughter's face. "She loves the sounds of people's hearts." She cuddled.

"How is her...treatment?" Suguha cautiously asked.

"It started yesterday." Rinko replied.

"Treatment?" Shino looked confused.

"It's for her infantile spasms." Rinko explained.

"That must be difficult for you to watch." Shino added.

"I've seen her go through a lot, but it still takes some adjustments though." Rinko rubbed Shino's head.

_Who knew after getting rid of colic she'd start having seizures? Why can't she just catch a break for once?_ Kazuto sighed as he felt his foot tap against the table's leg.

Shino looked at her elder. "I hope you don't mind me asking this but, is there something wrong with her left foot?"

"What do you mean?" Rinko wondered.

"Well, when she having that dream, she started kicking with it, while her right foot hardly moved at all." Shino calmly distributed her personal observation.

Rinko whispered into Shino's ear informing about Yumeko's permanent scar on her left foot and passed her a picture.

The black haired adolescent momentarily stared at the snapshot.

Yumeko opens her eyes making soft noises and stretching her small body.

"Hello again, my lovely. Did you have a nice nap?" The mother kissed the small forehead and rocked her.

"Looks like our kitten needed a little cat nap." Keiko giggled.

"She looks very tired." Rika observed.

"We were at the hospital to get some tests done. As expected it took a very long time, even with Fuko's and Namie's help." Rinko rubbed Yumeko's back.

"How did she handle it?" Suguha asked.

"Like a champion, of course." Klein exclaimed and puffed his chest with parental pride.

Rinko had a coy smile. "She was nervous, but she handled herself _very_ well. The staff wouldn't stop commenting on it."

Shino rubbed the Yumeko's head as the child's big dark grey eyes continue to stare at her.

"She doesn't open up to strangers this quickly." Rinko smiled brightly.

"Yeah it took a long time to like me." Kazuto repeatedly curled and uncurled his fingers.

"You sat on your hands so you woudn't poke her in her sleep again, didn't you Kirito-kun?" Asuna patted his back.

"Poke her again?" Shino blinked.

"The day she was discharged I poked a squeezed her face a little, but Yumemi ended up crying and a _certain_ _someone who shall remain nameless_ , whacked me on my head." Kazuto recapped the event from months ago.

Shino shook her head and frowned. "I'm not very surprised to hear that."

"But it was her very first cry. Before that she hardly ever made a sound." Asuna added

"And he helped her smile for the first time too." Keiko joined in.

"This one time I found a stuffed bear and he bought with his own allowance." Suguha smiled at that time in the shop.

"More importantly, he's the reason why we met onee-san from the beginning." Rika was the last to speak.

Shino nodded in understanding.

"And after all of that, Yumemi _never_ gave me a single kiss." Kazuto jokingly crossed his arms on his chest and pouted his lips.

"Now here's your chance. She's looking at you right now." Asuna poked his arm.

Kazuto stood up next to the mother/child couple and stretched out both of his hands happily picking up his precious niece.

"You sure got big kid." Kazuto kissed her face and laid her head on his shoulder.

"Y-you can't just tell her that, you big dummy!" Asuna spatted out.

"Do you know what's its like to be called fat!?" Rika sent him a sharp glare.

"I didn't say fat, I said big..." The boy sounded confused.

"Same difference onii-chan." His cousin snarled.

"She's supposed to look that." Keiko tsked.

"She can understand what you're saying. You could have hurt her feelings." Shino's voice was a tad calmer than her peers, but her eyebrows were still wrinkled.

"I don't think he's all that wrong." It was an older feminine voice this time.

"But he technically called our Himeko-chan fat." Asuna's voice followed.

"Well...she did grow double the size since from when she was born." Rinko's voice was warm and tender.

"But...but that was different." Rika's voice quieted down.

There was a little silence lasting a few seconds.

"If you told about this earlier we could have bought her some new clothes." Keiko tried to come up with a topic to discuss.

"Playing dress up with Himeko-chan is great. The best part is that she barely makes a fuss. You should join us sometime, Shino-san." Suguha said to the girl.

"That sounds like fun." Shino flashed an easy grin.

"Yumemi that tickles." Kazuto laughed as he felt the infant smother his cheek with her small opened mouth.

His girlfriend snapped a shot with her camera.

Yumeko touches her young uncle's face and squeals. Kazuto grins and bounces her with significant ease in movement. _She loves me! She really, really loves me!_

* * *

Asuna continued to take some quick snapshots. "Come on Kirito-kun, she needs to spend time with us too."

Sighing, Kazuto passed on his niece to her as Asuna gives him her camera.

Asuna goes near Yumeko's right cheek with her lips making a wide opening.

"What _are_ you doing?!" The high-schooler panicked.

The strawberry-blonde blinks and stares at him blankly. "I was just gonna bite her face with my lips."

"What!? Why!?" Kazuto continued to overreact.

"What's the problem?" She groaned as the feeling of the moment was slipping away.

The boy grunted. "You were about to bite her with you lips. What did _she_ ever do to _you_?"

"Is that a rhetorical question?" She teased him.

While looking at her annoyed romantic partner, the teen had a sly smile and bit the young one's with her soft lips. The infant laughed in response.

"See, she likes it when you rough house with her." Rika softly pulled on the small pair of pudgy cheeks and bounced Yumeko on her lap.

"We've been waiting months to play with her like this." Keiko messed up the tot's short, spike-like, dark grey hair.

Kazuto and Klein looked like they were about to have heart attacks by the end.

"Onee-sensei, don't _you_ have anything to _say_ about this?" Kazuto's teeth gritted and looked at the woman sitting the opposite of him.

Rinko acted amused towards the group of schoolgirls. "Keep applying pressure on her." She winked.

"Will do onee-san." Suguha gave a thumbs-up.

Kazuto and Klein's jaws continued to drop.

Suguha gave her niece a gentle bear hug and kiss. "You're such a fun joy to be with." She rubbed the infant's cheek with her nose, before passing her on to the fifth girl and new friend.

Shino poked the beyond tolerant little one's face, while Shino's finger was wrapped around the small hand, making the online gun-weidler blush.

_She's so well behaved._ The high school student thought.

Kazuto gave Asuna her camera back. "How many pictures did you take, Kirito-kun?"

"More then a bunch." He muttered displeased.

"Yui-chan is going to flip out over these." Asuna grinned as she scrolled the camera's digital gallery.

Kazuto quietly sat keping to himself, silently remembering how not very long ago when he was fighting his own demons. Reminiscing how around this time during the previous year, he and many, others were fighting for survival in a floating castle of steel in that cursed game of death.

The former beater was leveling up like no tomorrow, gathering as much information he could on that rumored rare item he thought that would revive someone who was very dear to him. _Things were so much different than last year._

* * *

**Thank you for reading! Leave a comment if you want. :)**


	19. Jolly Evening

**I don't own or have any affiliation with Sword Art Online. I apologize for any spelling, missing words or grammatical mistakes. This is from my Fanfiction.net account!**

* * *

**Chapter 19: Jolly Evening**

_**Wednesday, December 24th, 2025 6:24 P.M.** _

The young patient reaches out of thin air and looks at what only can be described as optically absent.

"Why does she always do that whenever she spaces out?" Namie asked Rinko.

"Beats me, its been happening for a really long time." The mother answered.

"Is it possible that she _can see_ something that we _can't_?" Fuko theorized.

"Now that you mentioned it, sometimes when I'm busy and she's crying and I go to her. She stops like something already did it. Then I get this odd feeling that someone already made to her _before_ I did." Rinko went on.

"Didn't you mention that during your pregnancy you pretty much felt this protective shield around you all the time? But even more in your sleep?" Fuko rambled.

"Now you're making it sound perverted." Namie muttered.

"Hey, I'm not the one who brought the topic in the first place." Fuko sounded snippy.

"Geez, someone's a little sharp tongued this evening." Rinko observed the conversation.

Fuko apologized. "I'm still tired from the double shift I had to do to get tonight off. And that _boy_ of mine _isn't_ back yet. I did _all_ of that work _just_ for him and he repays me by _not_ calling _but_ texting me that he's gonna be late with a _stupid_ smiley face." The green haired nurse frowned.

"I'm sure it's just a phase." Rinko gave her a glass of water.

The blue haired doctor laid her hand on the nurse's shoulder. "You're just a little off tonight. I'm sure what he said."

Fuko inhaled a deep breathe. "He's been doing this a lot lately. One time, I had to take away his games for a week because he failed a test because he just stopped studying, didn't finish his chores _and_ ignored the trash. And he's always coming home tired and hungry."

"Sounds like typical teenage behaviour. Stereotypical _yet_ typical." Rinko commented.

"All I told him was to study and do the chores. I have no idea what got into him." Fuko finished her drink.

"If you don't know then I guess he's doing it right." Namie snickered.

The three women got their minds of the subject at hand by the infant who had vigorously began to fitfully flail her small arms reaching for the thin air once again.

"Thankfully, she didn't behave like this during her scans or else the other staff members wouldn't know what to do about it." Namie said while witnessing the act unfold.

"Didn't you find it weird that how much attention she was paying over my shoulder?" Rinko turned her attention to them.

Fuko nodded. "At first I thought that it wasn't a big deal but she didn't look anywhere else besides you or over your shoulder during the breaks."

"I know how this sounds, but...is it possible that...she may have invented some sort of _imaginary_ friend?" The doctor hypothesized.

"Okay, that sounds creepy even for my standards." The nurse criticized the theory.

"Isn't she too young to have one?" Rinko was worried.

"Well, if she's old enough to have dreams. She also may be old enough to have an imaginary friend." The doctor's words continued.

Rinko hissed her daughter tightly clenched on to the folds of her top's shoulder that felt it was chaining into Rinko's sensitive skin, followed by the pressure of tiny fingernails as the infant was receiving an injection in her leg.

_Her body did go through a lot of trauma._ The mother was thinking as she fought back the tears forming in her eyes as the pain from the tiny fingernails was starting to slowly slip away.

The mother felt a chill crawl down her spine making her body slightly flinched. _There it is again. What is it?_

"What happened to you?" The doctor stood with the now emptied syringe that the nurse had given.

Rinko hurriedly blinked her eyes as the words became one with her eardrums and looks at the doctor. "N-nothing she dug her nails into my shoulder." She wrapped her daughter in the handmade quilt the girls had gifted months prior.

Her attention returns to the doctor. "You must still be a little jet lagged from the plane back from the conference. Outside might be a better place to sit and chat." The scientist's voice and face were both calm and easy, unlike her blundering mind that was skipping from one unfinished thought to the next, relentlessly attempting to draw a logical conclusion of what is causing her dear darling to behave in such a manner.

* * *

**8:00 P.M.**

Single-filed the group of five teenagers came inside the apartment holding either a dish or a gift bag.

"Your apartment looks just wonderful, Fuko-san." Suguha said as she and Keiko jointly admired the lovely decorations.

"Ya think? I just used what I found in the storage room downstairs."

"You did a good job." Rika looked around the living area.

The nurse smiled as they commented.

Rinko noticed the bandages wrapped around nearly all of Kazuto's fingers. "I _didn't_ know that is was _possible_ to _cut_ yourself while typing on a keyboard. Thank you for showing me that in advance, Kirigaya-kun." She teased.

"These aren't cuts from a keyboard..." He scratched the back of his head while his voice had a mixture of embarrassment and timidness to it.

"Then, what are they?" She asked.

"There..." As Kazuto was about to finish his answer until another feminine voice interjected.

"Onee-san, he hurt himself while trying to help us make a scarf." Asuna stood beside her boyfriend.

"I was about to say that." Kazuto blushed.

"I'll take your word for it." The strawberry blonde patted his back.

Rinko raised an eyebrow at the male youth. "Didn't you say that if you ever took up sewing, you'll _die_ of external bleeding?"

"Are you kidding me? I've _never_ seen this much of my own blood in my life." He exclaimed.

"Thanks again for the effort." Asuna cheerfully smiled.

Rinko and Kazuto's eyes widen simultaneously as they felt an invisible presence next to them.

Asuna's smile went faint. "Is everything alright?"

They turned their attention on her and brushed it off as it was nothing. Asuna joined her friends being with Yumeko.

"So how is the communication probe progress?" Rinko asked Kazuto.

"Research is going great. The class is working on the designing blueprints until we get a better idea before continuing on with the rest of the programming." He answered her.

"Do you have a name for it yet?" The scientist continued to question.

Kazuto took out his phone and wrote it down. The unofficial prototype name from the device was Double-sided Visual and Hearing message Probe.

"That's sounds really long to keep remembering it. Not to mention _boring_." Rinko's excitement toned down.

Kazuto chuckled. "It's still a work in progress."

"If you need any outside assistance, I'm here for you." Rinko laid her hand on his shoulder.

"Onee-sensei, I can't find the right words to express how much I appreciate you doing all of this for Asuna and I."

"Well thanks to that I wasn't completely bored out of my mind, when I wasn't occupied. It's nice getting a little side work done." She smiled.

Their conversation traveled to the more personal topics of how well the mother was coping with her PTSD nightmares and having the caesarian scar marked on her abdomen. They were the other two topics the woman can truly defy with the student without the knowledge of a third party. Within that time, Kazuto mentioned the 23rd-27th floors of ALO were unlocked, estimating that the game may end in another two years or so, and happily told Rinko he and Asuna bought themselves a forest home identical to the one they got in Old Aincrad on the 22nd floor.

"Onee-sensei..." Kazuto said in a quieter tone.

"What is it?" She copied the volume of his voice.

"It's about Yumemi's _actual_ name." He spoke in a soft audible tone.

"What about it?" Rinko was now oddly nervous.

"Well, that day I visited the hospital alone that day. You mentioned something about her name being meaningful, but you went off topic halfway in explaining it after you wrote the real one down." Kazuto paused to catch a breath. "Now you're saying that she's spacing out and grabbing for something that we can't see for ourselves."

The mother's cool hands felt they were heating up. "You think there's a connection between the two?" She whispered.

Before speaking any furthur Kazuto felt something pulling on his shirt collar and turned his neck and felt the small hand releasing the clothing material.

"Sorry to interrupt, but she a little anxious to see you, while she was with us." Asuna handed the baby over to him and rejoined her friends.

"Merry Christmas Yumemi-chan." The boy whispered very softly into her ear.

The infant made soft noises in response and wrapped her hand in an unbandaged finger.

"Any progress with her treatment?"

"It's only been five days so the results are a little fuzzy for now. She's been very patient through the whole thing." Rinko stroked between her child's eyes. "You didn't tell the girls her true name did you?"

Kazuto shook his head. "My word is my bond. They still think it is what it is, even though they still call her by her nickname."

Rinko sighed. "If you want you can start calling her by that name when it's just the two of us."

Kazuto took a moment and declinced, stating he insists to continue calling her the way he does. "A nickname is a stepping stone towards a good relationship."

Rinko nodded in agreement with the philosophy. "You didn't fully explain your decision to call her Yumemi. Care to _elaborate_?"

Kazuto pulled away and gave her daughter and they both sat on the sofa. "Well...the story behind that is..."

* * *

_***Flashback starts*** _

_**Monday, April 07th, 2025, 10:32 AM** _

Kazuto was sitting at his computer desk.

_Click!_ The door handle turned and Suguha intruded the private premises without knocking first. The younger girl was wearing a chipper smile.

"What are you so happy about?" Her older cousin sounded annoyed.

"Did you open your email yet?" She asked in a hyper voice.

"No, why?" He replied.

"Open it! Open it! Onee-san sent a picture to all of us. Asuna-san, Rika-san and Keiko-san and I are texting each other like _crazy_ about it right now."

"I'm not a fan of how you just said crazy..."

"Just shut up and open it!"

_Your telling me to shut up?_ He rolled his eyes and logged onto his email account. In his inbox, he clicked on the unread and bolded piece of electronic mail he had recieved and clicked the on the file link presented on the screen:

**[Execute 22WUPjpeg?]**

Agreeing to the saving of the image, he waited.

A new virtual window appeared, and revealed itself to be an ultrasound photo.

_What the hell?!_ Kazuto felt his skin crawl and flinched.

"Isn't she the most _beautiful_ thing you've ever seen?" Suguha fawned looking at the screen alongside him.

"The kid looks like an alien." He muttered.

"What?! How dare you even _think_ of something that horrible!" She growled.

"But _still_ cute as a button..." He awkwardly added.

"I'm _so_ telling Mom on you." Suguha turned away but then Kazuto pulled her hand behind her.

"Before you do, last night at dinner, you said that you girls are having trouble deciding on nicknames for when the baby's born, right?"

Suguha turned around and stood still with crossed arms on her chest. "I'm listening."

"Can I join in on it? But I have _one_ condition." He went on.

"And what is it?" She sounded interested.

"Only _I_ get to call her that."

"Hm, fair enough." She agreed. "But _I_ have one too."

"Okay, what?" He slouched in his chair.

"You have to come up with it by the time I leave for the trip us girls are planning to take the trip in Akihabara, so I can tell them personally."

"That seems fair. But I thought you were suppose to leave yesterday, weren't you?"

Suguha shook her head and looked slightly disappointed. "Onee-san felt sick so we moved it to this Saturday, but from the way she sounded on the phone, we think it might be pushed back even futhur."

She was in the doorway. "I'm _still_ telling Mom what you said."

Kazuto sighed and leaned against the back of his leather chair. He remembered at the dinner table the night before, Suguha mentioned that they were planning to make the pet-names to be identical to her 'birth name' and 'as cute as she is'. _Yumeko... Yumeko... Yumeko..._

While thinking he grabbed a sheet of paper and pen from the drawer, and wrote down the name:

_Yumeko_

After sitting there for some time, the boy decided to go downstairs for a quick snack.

"How's the nicknaming coming along?" Suguha was filling a glass of water.

"I'm having trouble myself." He looked down to the floor under his feet.

"Hey, since we're both bored, you wanna spar a little?"

Challenged accepted.

In the dogo, both teenagers were fully equipped with protective gear and bamboo swords.

Unlike before, Kazuto had his mindset different from when he was suppose to have at the time. _Yumeko... Dream... Dream... Dreams are beautiful... She will be beautiful... A beautiful dream? How will that help? Wait, a beautiful dream... A dream beauty?_

"Kya!" Suguha charged at the distracted boy. Taking advantage of the flickering moment, she launches her shinai in front of her and strikes for his armored front and hit the right side of his head.

Kazuto stumbled on his heels and fell while his dropping weapon that clattered onto the hardwood floor. He slowly unattached the head gear blinking until he stopped seeing stars. Looking up at his cousin, a small smile grew on his lips. "Geez, if you _still_ upset about what I said earlier, you _could_ have just said so, Sugu."

"I didn't mean too, onii-chan. Its true I still kind of am...but I didn't expect this." She apologized and helped him up.

Kazuto chuckled at the needless apology. "Don't worry, you actually helped me."

She looked at him confused. "Eh?! How? I could have given you an concussion..."

The two were both at the computer desk together again. Kazuto was using the same paper and pen:

_Yumeko_

_Yume = dream_

_Mi = beauty_

Yumemi

_***Flashback ends*** _

* * *

"So she really _did_ attack you with a shinai?" Rinko chuckled lightly at the tale.

"That's besides the point." Kazuto frowned.

"Seems she liked your story. It put her right to sleep." Rinko have him a playful wink.

"Glad I could be of help onee-sensei."

Rinko handed her sleeping daughter over to him and offered the student a drink, which the latter gladly accepted before she left her seat.

"I'm sorry if my story hurt your feelings Yumemi-chan. I didn't mean to say that on purpose." He whispered softly.

Her big dark grey eyes enveil themselves and stares into his onyx irises. Being unable to resist the opportunity of it just being the two of them close together while the rest of the apartment dwellers were distracted by their own activities. The boy cuddled with the small body with great affection while grinning.

When he tickled her stomach, the small mouth didn't release the beautiful laugh he expected to hear, but shrill, high pitched screams, that were making his heart ache. The last thing he ever wanted to do was causing her any kind of strife.

"What happened Kirito-kun?" Asuna asked from her standing position in an anxious voice.

"I...tickled her a little." He answered not taking his eyes of his niece.

"I told you she's not ticklish." Suguha grumbled quietly.

Klein came over to the overwhelmed teenager and gently took her. He stroked her back with his thumb and spoke gently. "Come on, I know your stronger than that. Isn't my girl stronger than a bull?"

Once the noise reduced to sobbing, Klein felt someone poke his shoulder. Then he saw his girlfriend hold a little shrubby green plant over her head. Understanding the unspoken implication behind the action. He placed the infant in between them and the couple as Rinko's lips came in contact with the child's cheek while his lips touch her head.

"So, the party _did_ start without me." A new voice was heard at the doorway.

The owner of the voice was a brown eyed boy with ear length fringed blonde hair. He shedded from his coat, gloves, and yellow scarf. He took of his shoes on the welcome mat and apologized for arriving back late.

"I had to go get a little something." Takato took a black velvet box.

"Merry Christmas." He presented it to his mother.

The inside revealed a sapphire diamond tennis bracelet. Fuko was speechless as she wore the dazzling luxury assessory and looked at her son.

"It's the same one you saw in the display case the day we went out. It was near your birthday but you couldn't get it that time."

"How did you buy this?" His mother's voice was slightly faint.

"The manager of the store is the uncle of a friend of mine and after pulling some strings, I got a better deal. So to help pay it off, I used half of my allowance and was helping out when I don't have baseball practice for the past three months and today was my last day. I wanted to give it to as a birthday present, but there wasn't enough time."

Hearing every one of his word, the nurse's mouth forced itself open. "Why?"

"Simple. You buy what _I_ want so I _bought_ what _you_ wanted." The 13-year-old gave a half-smile.

Without saying anything the absurdly youthful woman wrapped her arms tightly stroking his hair as a tear trickled down her right eye and sniffled. "Thank you."

* * *

The small festivities moved on as usual.

Takato was entertaining his 'cousin' with the bell rattle he gave after she was born. "Merry Christmas Yuriko-chan." The young adolescent held in his arms.

The infant was taking pleasure in observing the functioning colouful lights on the tree standing in the corner of the room. She moved her attention as small pure white flakes began to gracefully fall down from the heavens, to engulf the dark city grounds in a soft white blanket.

As everyone else were taking part in the apprectiation of the mystical one-of-a-kind beauty of the weather condition, Kazuto was quietly standing in the back of the crowd.

His mind traveled back in time to a memory from the beginning of year, when the young man was desperately riding his bicycle to see his beloved awake in the real world for the very first time in over two years.

He _knew_ that the things in his life will _never_ be the same or repeat themselves at his own will. Some things he will cherish and remember for years to come. Some things, he will naturally forget as the flowing whispers of passing time that will eventually catch up with him and his friends as well.

He knew it was going to happen as soon as he writes the university entrance exams. Separating himself from his lonesome position to stand next to his girlfriend and his comrades, seizing the moment for as long as he could.

Like every snowfall, each memory was different.

* * *

**Thank you for reading! Leave a review if you want! :)**


	20. Compunction

**I do not own or have any affiliation with Sword Art Online. I apologize for any spelling/grammatical errors and/or missing word that were made into the text.  This is from my fanfiction.net account!  
**

* * *

**Chapter 20: Compunction**

Rinko's body was laying on the ground as her eyes opened up. A spotlight casted its bright, tantalizing shine in the perfect blackness acting as her initial, unknown surroundings. Her eyes felt a sharp sting and were trying to forcefully ignore the strong glow by turning her face away. _Why am I dreaming all of this again!? I have to wake up... I have to..._

Her eyes enlarged as she recognized a tall, skinny man coming near her from a distance, dressed a shirt and tie, covered in a long white labcoat. Without thinking, the woman ran to him, stopped and crouches down in front of him. The man, kept the usual calm demeanor.

"Kayaba-kun, I knew it you all along. You were my shield. Forgive me for not figuring it out sooner." She looked up to his face.

The mouth of the imaginary figment moved, however the sound of his voice was inaudible. As Rinko was once again standing on her own legs, to embrace him, as it was now the only method to feel him again. The image of her past lover's body disintegrated into blue three dimensional polygons followed by a glass shattering noise effect repeated itself as an echo.

Rinko dropped to her knees, clenching clomps of her short black hair, tears hitting the floor. She slowly and steadily brought herself on her feet and turned her body as a beeping sound was pushing itself near her.

A health gauge popped out of nowhere, the label was styled as if it was glitched, making the letters illegible to read. An isolette appeared as if was summoned by a magical spell. The incubator was surrounded by wires and monitors.

Rinko ran it as hard as she could, but stopped, hissing at the scorching pain on her abdomen as the incursion was newly stitched.

A message box from the Old and New Aincrad interface suddenly came forth to the woman, tapping on it:

**_Don't_ _**forget** 05/09/25. _ **

Wallowing and wincing excruciating pain, she fought to walk on her knees screaming her daughter's true name on the top of her lungs, saying not to leave her alone in the world. Her nose was burning as the vision from her eyes turned misty, blinking away the tears of agony.

Each piece of medical equipment disappeared leaving polygons and sounds of breaking glass one by one. Before witnessing the same occurrence to be unleashed on the transparent structure, Rinko's eyesight faded to black.

* * *

The woman woke up gasping for air, shivering in cold sweat. Next to her laid, was her daughter, warm and securely covered by the handmade quilt. Rinko touched her forehead with her own as she tenderly pressed her hand on the infant's back as she always did when they co-slept.

The mother grabs her cell phone discovering the time was nearly half past twelve o' clock in the afternoon.

The date May 02nd in the year 2026. According to the chronological age, it has been a year since the scientist entered motherhood. She cuddles with her daughter while still laying next to her. "Happy Birthday, my one true love."

The feeling of the moment had came and passed when the vibration was felt from the night table next to the bed. It was a voice mail sent from Kazuto's phone. Playing it, placed the device on her ear, listening to the harmonized birthday wish message. Smiling, she mass texted the high schoolers that the birthday girl was sleeping for the time being. Then she received messages from her own high school friends saying that they're coming together with the cake and decorations.

So its been a whole year already. Rinko kissed her child's hair. In terms of her actual age, she was now one-year-old. However, her developmental age was 8 months and 19 days.

Today was the day the mother hated with immeasurable anger and guilt. This day last year, robbed her of so many things. Instead of crying tears of joy and happiness, they were tears of distress, pain and hatred.

During the pregnancy, the expectant female couldn't wait to share the same birthday will the one person she'll love for the rest of her life and beyond. Even now, she still blames herself deeply for the untimely event. In those days, the mother always wondered why her precious darling fought so hard night and day to live another day in this cruel yet beautiful world.

"You make me so proud. I'm very blessed to be with you everyday." She whispered and carefully began to slide out of the bed and rolled out the nightstand drawer. She took out three leather bound notebooks, the first during her pregnancy, the second during her everyday visits and the third was used to record each detail of her child's time spending at home up until then.

When Rinko returned every morning she always asked the nurses what happened after she left and copied down every bit of information as she could. After visiting hours were over, the woman would lie down in her room, not speaking very much during dinner. In the first few weeks, she would cry until her eyes turned puffy, pink and lachrymose, sometimes even to the point of becoming light-headed and dizzy, saying that she was crying for someone who unable to do so.

As hurtful as the day was for her, she knew she had to move on. The woman slowly rekindled the philosophy that tears cannot turn back the hands of time. However, on the morning of May 09th, she expected that her entire world to end and nearly destroyed her instantly.

* * *

_***Flashback starts*** _

Rinko was walking inside of the hospital lobby and reached for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit wing of the medical care facility.

Once she had just written her name on the sign-up sheet, she put on a brave smile for her little loved one.

The woman stopped in the hallway, feeling a high note singing her chest.

There was a bunch of medical staff members surrounding the incubator. Her curiosity overpowered her and turned to terror.

This fear made her legs wobble but she managed to walk into the large dimly lit room and one of the nurses what was going on.

The young man lowered his head and led her back outside.

Namie and Fuko rushed towards them and wrapped Rinko with a firm grasp, informing that they had now just learned what had happened.

She the patient's mother was about to repeat her question, a loud continuous beeping met her ears.

The woman slowly rotated her body, her eyes set still on the transparent object. Her fingertips glided down the heartbeat monitor. The crystal blue line was rolling horizontally across the black screen _. Kayaba-kun, I failed you. I broke my promise. I shouldn't never become a mother._

With some assistance, Rinko was given her daughter to lay on her bare chest for to skin-to-skin care as a final request.

How much time had passed was unknown to her then. She was sitting in a comfortable chair in between her best friends until the mother requested that they would leave her as well, so they wouldn't get in trouble from their supervisors.

Continuing to hold the very small body, she lifted her head to see the clock hanging on the wall, discovering she had been sitting there for nearly three hours.

The luminescent line was still silently rolling along the screen. "I'm sorry, my one true love. I did fail." A long stream of salty water trickled down her face, before she found the strength to wipe it off, the drop fell on the limb, lifeless, one-week-old body.

The mother felt a very slow movement with the tiny hand weakly grasping on her long, slender index finger.

The revived beeping of the heart monitor was like an ingenious musical symphony to Rinko's ears.

She pressed the call button and within a few minutes the same staff members reentered the room with some equipment.

The already wired miniature figure was soon placed back into the incubator.

Observing as much of the work the staff was conducting, the mother noted every detail in the leather journal.

As everything was over, she turned to the back cover of the book, she engraves:

_Don't Forget 05/09/25_

_***Flashback ends*** _

* * *

When closed the book and looks at her now awaken child and picked her up. "Happy Birthday."

It was now nearly one o' clock.

She takes her child outside so can finish with the cleaning and getting the both of them ready for the guests.

After changing herself and her daughter into more suitable clothing her best friends came carrying decorations and a cake. Takato was keeping the birthday girl occupied while the three women were busy pulling everything together as planned.

Later, the high school students came.

Rinko noticed something about the couple.

Asuna had the small dome-shaped monitoring camera mounted on her shoulder. It was the Audiovisual Bidirectional Communication Probe. Rinko remembered seeing the piece of electronic machinery, when all of the girls paid a visit due a fellow ALO player's excitement to finally at last meet their "grey kitten".

It has been nearly two months since the death of Konno Yuuki. The event of losing her friend hurt Asuna very much, but was slowly begin to overcome the loss by being around her loving friends and family whether in the real world or in the digital fairy universe. Since Absolute Sword's account's termination, Asuna felt a small part of her was deleted as well, but coping with the unfortunate turn of events smooth rate.

Rinko walked up to it, waving her hand into the screen. "Hello Yui-chan."

"Hello Rinko-san." The sweet voice escaped through the tiny terminal speaker.

"Yui-chan, what do you think of the way Kirito-kun looks right now?" Asuna moved her body enough so the that the AI could get a full-body visual image of the teenage boy in a giant, pink teddy bear costume with a bow on its neck. The costume also had a head with matching black eyes and black nose.

"Papa looks warm and fuzzy." She laughed. "I think the bow of it is in the wrong place from the picture you showed me, Mama." Yui observed.

"Hm, I'll fix that." Asuna united it from her boyfriend's neck and onto the left ear. "Now it's perfect, thanks to you Yui-chan." She grinned.

"The manliness of it is gone!" Kazuto exclaimed as he was dramatically clutching his chest.

Rinko gave a small chuckle. "Beside's Yui-chan's visit and Kirigaya-kun's amusing choice of attire, what else is there?"

"What else isn't there onee-san?" Keiko called out.

"Birthday beats?" The woman jokingly suggested.

A collective gasp came Takato, Kazuto and Agil.

"H-how could you even think of that?!" Takato cried out to his aunt.

"What are you talking about? I have you one on your first birthday." Fuko grabbed him a put him in a headlock, giving his fringed hair a shaggy look.

"That explains why I keep flinching whenever a friend of mine invites me to a fist bump." He muttered.

"What are birthday beats?" Yui asked.

"Birthday beats are a painful and cruel ritual, that we humans have been punished with for many decades, possibly centuries." Kazuto answered.

Asuna sighed and rolled her eyes. "Birthday beats are when family and friends punch the birthday person as a gesture of good luck. The number of punches depend on how old the person had turned on that day."

"Punch? You mean that you're going to hurt my baby?" Yui's voice was filled with uncertainty and worriment. "I don't want to cry on her special day."

The room felt a small, confused silence as her spread.

Asuna's lips were drying out and she sharply glared at her boyfriend. "See what you did Kirito-kun? You made her upset." She grunted.

"Wait, me!? How!?"

"You said that birthday beats are _barbaric_ and cruel."

"I said _painful_ and cruel." He corrected her.

"Aha, so you do _admit_ to saying those dumb things?" She counter-argued.

The couple went on for a little while longer, much to the amusement of the audience.

"The truth is Yui-chan, is that we we're only going to hit her lightly and then give her a big hug after." Asuna explained.

"You were? Well, in that case, can you give a very light punch and really big hug from me, Papa?" The AI requested.

"W-what!? Why me!?"

"If Mama did it twice, it wouldn't be fair to the others."

Kazuto sighed. "Can I just hug her and forget about the punch?"

Yui shook her head. "If you do, than the punch to hug ratio will be off."

"How about instead of punching her, we give a pat on the back for good luck?" Keiko suggested.

"Or to make it more fun, why not pull on her ear?" Rika added.

Suguha stood near her bear cosplaying cousin. "And if that's too much for you to handle, maybe messing up her hair would be a better option."

Shino decided to speak. "You know, you could poke her face again, only this time she may not cry."

Asuna joined the taunting. "Too bad you can only give her _one_ bear hug."

"I don't get it..." Kazuto's words made him sound confused yet irritated by the number of options being opened to him.

"What don't you get?" His girlfriend spoke up.

"You girls call her your little _princess_ , but you keep playing rough with her. She's delicate, isn't she?"

The girls briefly glanced at one another.

Suguha cleared her throat. "We play rough with her because she's our warrior princess. Her delicateness is an illusion."

"So Yui-chan, which option do you prefer?" Asuna asked.

"I choose the...poking option." She chimed.

Kazuto sighed in great relief.

"But Papa, has to hug and poke only from me." The AI's requested further.

"So many hugs? Someone's getting _very_ spoiled today." Rinko hugged her child a little tighter, letting the infant release a small laugh.

The students decided to give hugs and pokes in alphabetical order by surname starting with Shino and ending with Asuna.

The girls huddled together in a tight knit circle excluding Kazuto, as their eyes sparkled like a shoujo anime.

"I hope those cheeks of hers never lose their softness." Keiko squeaked.

"Her hugs are just as warm as her heart." Shino smiled.

"That laugh of hers is like sunshine on a cloudy day." Rika grinned.

"Her courageous spirit is immeasurable." Asuna happily sighed.

"The depths of her powerful will seem endless." Suguha joined in.

"Wow, that was amazing! What do you think Papa?" Yui's excitement for the answer grew.

_How the hell do they come up with all of that!?_ Kazuto cleared his throat hoping not to disappoint the virtual being. "She has...a heart of gold." He stumbled on his words.

"That was...better than your last one. But you're not _quite_ there yet." Rika teased him.

"How do you remember what I said last time?" He looked suspicious.

"It was recorded." Suguha answered.

"You recorded it!? When?" Panic empowered his voice.

"When you almost getting killed by Asuna-san." Keiko added.

"Can I hear them?" Yui requested in antcipation.

"Yeah, we added it to the video montage and wrote them down in the scrapbook." Suguha laughed.

"Scrapbook?" Rinko looked curious.

"We've been working on it for months." Rika took out the large decorated album and covered the part of the opening page with her hand. "Believe it or not onee-san, the hardest part was coming up with the opening message." She uncovered the small handwriting.

The mother read it aloud:

_Given to the beautiful, rare blessing that on this day made us all aunts and an uncle. We will cherish you forever. Please don't forget our love for you._

The tearing mother thanked them wholeheartedly.

"That was a very nice message." Yui admired.

The young child seemed to be reaching out for something over her mother's shoulder, that the other occupants in the living could vividly figure out with their own eyes.

"Is there something bothering her?" Yui's voice was disquiet.

"It's nothing to worry about Yui. She's enjoying the streamers and balloons." Kazuto dishonestly explained.

Rinko felt her sensitive skin being harshly rubbed by her shirt's material, again followed by the pressure of fingernails was inserted in her left shoulder, but tried bravely not to spill tears from her eyes.

"So, who wants to hold her for a while?" She offered the company.

"May Mama hold her for a few minutes? I'd like to talk to my baby." Yui politely asked.

* * *

While that was taking place, Rinko excused herself to the bathroom.

She quickly shed her top off her body. Splashed her face with cool water, she then took a damp washcloth, applying it to the affected area hissing as the red skin pores and nearly noticeable bloody spots on her shoulder. The sweat on her forehead re-accumulated.

Spending an unknown amount of minutes in the confided space, inhales and exhales while re-buttoning her dark blue blouse.

There were only two more times where she can recall this frantic feeling.

The first time when she was holding a stick with a positive sign.

The second time, she laid on a gel bed with her hands on her then inflated abdomen.

And at the duration of those times, she only thought of one person, Kayaba Akihiko.

Her eyes returned her mind to the present time.

The time shown on her watch indicated that the woman was in there for nearly a half-hour.

* * *

"Why is crying?" Rinko asked the nurse who was pacing back and forth.

"I guess she got a little separation anxiety. Do you want her now or later?"

Rinko decided to wait and left the living room again, this time with her cell phone, wondering why her boyfriend hasn't come back yet and was nearly two hours late for the occasion. He told her that he was working on something and he needed to be there.

Her mind flashbacked to the previous year when she realized her water broke much too early. He was on his way to pick her up for the surprise baby shower. The next place she ended up was in a hospital room. Before the anesthesia took effect, she heard the calm voice from her past thanking her for all she did for him, including his 'miracle' child; a phenomenon he was always skeptic about. An hour post surgery, she woke up, surrounded by four sleeping school-girls and the feeling of something had been torn from her, after she failed to keep it safe for a day longer.

She exited the bedroom.

"How long did she take to stop?" The mother asked.

"Just a few minutes." The nurse gave her back. "That's record-breaking compared to you." She ruffled her son's hair.

"Mom, quit it." Takato muttered under his breath.

Rinko tenderly caressed her daughter's hair. For a long time she was trying to make herself believe that infant didn't contain either a single or a mixture of her own or her father's physical traits. Stroking hair, she couldn't force herself any longer. Her black hair and Kayaba's grey hair intertwined, giving their child a very dark grey colour, and somehow a pair of matching very dark grey eyes.

* * *

The party moved on to the guests playing a game where they had to say an adjective that describes the birthday girl and whoever couldn't outshine the previous contestant are unable to advance to the next round.

Words like brilliant, majestic, unique, mesmerising, blessing, exquisite, remarkable and angelic were tossed around like a soccer ball on an open field.

Kazuto was disqualified when he tried used Yui as a thesaurus, even though his answers were acceptable.

When the game came to halt, Rinko was changing her daughter into more comfortable sleepwear.

Takato entered the room offering help which the woman gladly accepted.

* * *

_***Flashback starts*** _

_**August 11th 2025, 2:11 A.M.** _

The squalling newborn was in her mother's arms while Rinko was about go into the kitchen.

To her surprise, the 13-year-old unexpectedly made his appearance in the bedroom and had her a warm bottle.

"Did she wake you up?"

"I set my alarm so you didn't have to do it."

She smiled and inserted the teat in the small mouth as Takato sat opposite of her, wondrously observing.

"It's hard to believe this is happening in front me." He whispered.

After several minutes of waiting, the boy had in the child nestled in his arms.

The quilt wrapped bundle released a small whimper, but digressed once he massaged the back of her head putting newborn back to her previous slumber, then the fawn was returned to the doe.

Stretching his arms and yawning he laid down next to both females.

He stroked the small hair humming an old song that Fuko would sing to him whenever he took ill and the same one he to non-romantically serenade his 'tiny cousin' during his frequent hospital visits.

Fuko came in rubbing her eyes and sat on the foot of the bed. "I didn't know we were having a slumber party."

"Brings back some good times, doesn't it? Guess what song he was humming to to her." Rinko whispered.

"I have a feeling I already know."

The green haired woman sat on her knees, her lips were closer to his ear as she was reciting the lyrics:

_Soft Kitty, Warm Kitty little ball of fur._

_Happy Kitty, Sleepy Kitty purr, purr, purr._

_***Flashback Ends*** _

* * *

Soon enough the party was slowly coming to its timely demise.

The cake was cut and served much to Rinko's reluctance due to her partner's absence.

The locked door disabled to everyone's surprise.

It was Klein looking both extremely happy yet tired all at once.

He quickly took a seat and a drink followed by an bombardment of questions coming his domestic partner.

Instead of giving her a verbal answer for why he was gone for so long, he took the birthday girl from her mother's arms, cuddling and kissing her like no end.

He reaches for his back pocket, taking out a red velvet box.

There were two rings inside.

* * *

**I don't own the lyrics! Thank you very much for reading! Leave a comment if you'd like!**


	21. Lacuna

**I do not own nor have any affiliation with Sword Art Online. I apologize for any spelling or grammatical errors that were made into the text. This is from my fanfiction.net account!**

* * *

**Chapter 21: Lacuna**

_**Friday, December 24th, 2027** _

_**7:15 PM** _

_**"**_ Ugh, what's taking them so long?" Kazuto groaned as his eyes followed the subtle fluent movements of the small melting icecubes in his bronze coloured liquid.

"Someone's sure being a little impaitent." The giant bartender commented polishing a glass with a small towel.

"I'm still a little tired from the trip yesterday." Kazuto retracted.

"It's fine. I know it can be stressful going back and forth while in college." Agil added.

"Should I call them again? Maybe this time I won't get forwarded to voicemail." Rika suggested to the rest of the young females sitting with her at the table.

"I think we should give it a few more minutes before trying again." Keiko added.

Suguha nodded. "Yeah, it isn't easy getting ready with two-year-old running around."

"Or a husband for that matter." Asuna laughed.

Rika happily sighed and laid her back. "It's gonna be so great seeing them in person. Sometimes the photos, the phone calls or the live group chat sessions aren't enough."

Shino looked at her watch. "Especially for Himeko-chan's sake. For all we know she may not even remember our faces or names properly."

"Right. I still can't believe we had to wait over four months to finally pick out a date just for a meet-up." Asuna took a small sip of her warm drink.

It's like a year went by since then. Kazuto sighed at his own thought. He sips the last of his drink and asked for a refill.

The chime of the shop's hanging bell rang sweetly.

"Man, looks like the party already died from his angle." Klein flashed a smug grin.

"Really? You see the kids after all this time and that's the first thing that comes out of your mouth?" Rinko pulled on his ear.

Takato came inside carrying the toddler on his shoulders.

"Mama." She frowned as she saw her mother holding onto her step-father's ear.

"Ha, she's on my side right now." Klein ruffled the child's hair.

The small golden bell on her thick red hair ribbon played a soft jingle making the little girl grin to the sound.

She still likes bells huh? Kazuto had a small smile. "Hey Takato, if you hold her like that in the park, the girls won't stop coming." He gave him a fist bump.

"You don't have to tell me twice. It already worked." The adolescent whispered, Kazuto gave a small high five.

"Yumemi, guess who." Kazuto pulled on his cheeks.

"Your not going to make her cry again are you?" Takato teased his elder.

"Hey, you still have that mark on your chin." Kazuto noticed.

"Yeah...she bit me pretty hard back then. It's been about a year, so its all good."

Rinko told her nephew to stand still as the woman lifted Yumeko from the top of his shoulders.

"You grew a little taller." Kazuto swipes the red cap off of Takato's head and traps him in a headlock.

After being freed from his elder's clutches, the third-year middle school boy playfully punched the university student in his arm, then sat in between Kazuto and Klein and ordered a drink.

"So how's the whole big brother thing working out for ya?" Kazuto tried to forward the conversation.

"Its going great. Most of the time, she's pretty easy to deal with for her age." Takato replied.

"You seem to be doing pretty well too." Agil said to Klein.

Klein took a sip. "Yeah, I started sleeping at night again."

"So tell us about this girl of yours. How'd you meet?" The bartender placed a warm porcelin cup and saucer set in front of the blonde-haired boy.

The costumer gulped the warm cafenated liquid. "Well, I've known her for a long time. We were classmates for two years but didn't really talk to each other very much. Then..."

"Then, what else happened?" Klein arched an eyebrow.

Biting his lips, the teenager spoke. "This one day..."

* * *

_**_***Flashback starts*** _ ** _

_**_**Late Summer 2027** _ ** _

The teenager was walking down the sidewalk with Yumeko on his shoulders, carrying a plastic bag in both hands.

Since time was cutting short he decided to take a shortcut through the park trying to the toddler home before getting a call by his aunt.

Without warning, he stops at the midde of the cemeted pathway.

His eyes stared at a girl with red rose hair tied up in a high pony tail, sitting on a plain wooden bench underneath a giant tree. Her dark brown eyes were looking into the screen of a white, touch screen tablet.

The moment of being bewitched by the girl's enchanting presenace, was interrupted when the middle schooler felt a small smack on his forehead, followed by a small, yet demanding voice. "Tag!"

He blinked by into reality. "What was that, Yuriko-chan?"

The toddler repeated the same action and word once more.

"Is that you, Takato-kun?" The redheaded girl waved her hand above her head.

"Oh, uh. Hello...Sayaka-chan." The boy nervously replied. It was like the words 'calm' or 'cool' were obilterate from his vocabulary.

"Tag! Tag! Tag!" Yumeko exclaimed.

"Not so loud, Yuriko." He lightly protested.

The female middle schooler came up to them. "If you'd like, I can watch your stuff while you go play." She offered.

"Tag!" Yumeko clapped excitedly.

The boy sighed. "Believe me, she knows other words..."

"Tag!" The toddler repeated like a broken record.

Sayaka giggled and placed the shopping bags from his hands into her own.

"I guess I owe you one, huh?" He whispered.

"Let me copy off your homework later then we'll call it even." She whispered back.

"Deal."

Takato lifted his honourary cousin from his shoulders and onto the hard cemeted ground.

The very young girl to run around as the chase was about to start.

"Don't go too fast or else you'll-!"

The boy quickly rushed when he saw Yumeko tripped and fall down on the pavement sobbing.

He kneeled down beside her looking at her leg.

"Is she okay?" His classmate yelled out from where she was standing.

"She's fine. Just a little scrap." He shouted back.

Still watching the little girl sob, he takes off his favourite cap and covers the top of her hair and taking it back off again. "Hat on. Hat off. Hat on. Hat off. Hat on. Hat off. Hat...on."

Yumeko smiled again and kissed him.

"I miss you too. I'll try to sleepover again after my vacation ends." He picked her and walked back to the former classmate.

"When do you want to copy my homework?" He took bags back.

"I guess after we go have lunch." She patted Yumeko's head.

_**_**_***Flashback ends*** _ ** _ ** _

* * *

_**_**"**_**_ Attaboy." Kazuto clincked his glass with Takato's cup.

"I like every part of that story expect where my kid got hurt." Klein wrapped his arm around the boy's neck.

"So you got yourself a date. Pretty sweet." The bartender grinned.

"Try three." The middle-schooler smirked.

"Whoa, three? Don't forget to invite me your wedding." Kazuto laughed.

"Sure thing. You'll be in the top twenty." Takato retored.

An adult female voice spoke out. "I think they should be invited to your funeral instead, because if your mother found out about that... Well, that's all I can say for now."

"No offense oba-san, but it's not easy taking you serious while wearing that." The boy pointed to the santa hat she had on.

Rinko raised an eyebrow, and took out her cell phone.

"Who are you calling?" Takato asked.

"Fuko, of course."

"Wait, what!? I-I was just joking around. I'm sorry I didn't tell you until after the second date. I wanted to tell you earlier... Please, don't call her!" The boy pleaded, standing on his knees.

Ignoring the plea, the woman placed her phone on her ear.

The 15-year-old was biting his fingernails like he was watching a suspenseful horror film against his will.

Sitting in the middle of Rinko's lap, Yumeko stood up wobbling, and kissed the lower area of her mother's face.

Rinko sighed and put away the communication device, rubbing her daughter's soft hair. "She's not on break yet. You're off the hook. For now."

Takato took a deep breath of relief and grinned as pulled his body closer to the edge of booth's seat and started squeezing her. "Your a life-saver. I love you."

"I love you too." She giggled.

"You're a very nice girl, Himeko-chan." Rika laurelled.

The toddler lowers her head, looking at her lap. "Thank you." She retaliated in a near whisper.

"And your so pretty. I think I'm a getting jealous." Asuna chimed.

"A-all...of you...are too." The toddler's eyes were still lowered and voice volume capacity stayed the same.

"That's very sweet of you to say." Keiko's face almost displayed a luminescent blush.

"Thank you." Yumeko raised her vision slightly.

"You're very polite for your age." Suguha gave her kudos.

"Let's not forget smart." Shino gave her typical relaxed smile.

"I'm surprised that nobody said strong willed." Kazuto called out from his stool.

A taciturnity spread in the midst of the shop's occupants.

"Did you just give a good compliment?" Agil blinked.

"Yeah, so? I'm a nice guy. What of it?" Kazuto looked over his shoulder.

"Nothing, it's just that you suck at giving good ones." Klein poked his shoulder.

"Hey, I'm still working on it." Asuna hollered.

"We all have to start out somewhere." Rika added.

"And sometimes it takes a miracle." Shino contributed to the taunting.

All of the women share a hearty laugh.

"So Yumeko-chan, how old are you?" Suguha questioned subtly.

The tot raised up two fingers.

"Wow, you're so big. I can't believe it!" Keiko praised.

"Honey, do you want to sit with them?" Rinko rubbed her daughter's hair.

Yumeko clinged to her mother's arm.

"Do you wanna play a game then?" Rinko went into her purse.

Seeing the ball in her mother's palm, Yumeko excitedly swiped it away.

"Yume, do you want to play with them?"

The toddler blankly stared at her mother's face.

"Yume, give back please." She requested.

Watching the outstretched hand and the curling and uncurling of the delicate, beautiful slender fingers, the little girl returned it.

Rinko then slides the round plaything to Rika who was sitting straight across from her.

Yumeko frowned and looked at Rinko with a confused face.

"If you ask for it, she'll give it back to you." The woman explained.

"That's right." Rika lightly tossed it in the air and caught it.

Kazuto looked at Klein while witnessing the scene from the table across from the bar counter. "Your pretty lax about all of this. How come your not coddling her right now?"

Klein stretched his arm. "She needs to learn to be more assertive. If I keep saving her, she'll be too dependent."

The others nodded in agreement.

"M-may I...please...have my...ball back?" The child asked without making any eye contact.

Everyone's eyes widen in surprise.

"Did you just say a full sentence?" Suguha glanced at her girlfriends.

Rika nodded to her, and rolled the ball across the table.

"Thank you." Yumeko said quietly.

"Bravo sweetheart, very well done." Rinko gave a harmless tug of her ear.

"Don't play rough with her." The man in the bandana grumbled.

"What happened to not coddling her so much?" The bartender smirked.

"One step at a time." Klein spatted out.

"Onee-san did you ever do that toy hiding exercise?" Asuna asked.

Rinko shook her head up and down.

"How did that go?" Shino continued Asuna's question.

"The results were...inconclusive." The scientist sipped her coffee.

"What do you mean by inconclusive?" Keiko took a bite out her piece of cake.

"Papa helped." Yumeko answered.

"You've got to be kidding me." Kazuto shook his head.

* * *

The small rubber plaything was accidentally rolled to the other side of the round table and was caught by Keiko. She softly whispers to the others sitting near her. Smiling at the little girl, the cat-lover rolled it back to her. "What's your favourite colour, Himeko-chan?" She asked.

"Blue." She replied and rolled it the ball to Suguha.

"Himeko-chan do you like day care?" Suguha rolls it back.

"It's...nice."

The ball was rolled over to Shino. "Did you make any friends yet?"

The toddler simply nods side to side.

"Don't worry, you will someday." Kazuto encouraged her.

Then it was pushed to Rika. "What's your favourite toy in the whole wide world?" The dark burnette slid it back.

The toddler gleefully goes into her mother's purse but stops when she feels someone tugging on the back of her shirt.

She turns to see her stern faced mother. "Yumeko, you're supposed to ask mama first."

Looking like a very dark grey innocent kitten, melting all of the other female's hearts excluding Rinko's, she apologizes.

Rinko went into her purse and gave her the small pink bear to display on the table.

"She never leaves without it." Rinko patted Yumeko's back.

Kazuto smiled while Suguha's cheeks formed a pinkish colour over her pale complextion.

The little girl then rolled the ball to Asuna.

"Who's your favourite parent?" The strawberry blonde asked.

"That's a pretty direct question." Kazuto looked at his girlfriend from the edge of the booth after accepting the crowd's invitation to come play with them.

"Mama." The toddler spoke out without even the slightest hint of hesitiation.

"Ouch, that hurt from over here." Agil patted an upset looking Klein's back as Takato was laughing to himself.

The ball came to Kazuto, which he reluctantly picked up. "It is okay, if I give you something?"

"Gi'mme what?" His honourary niece asked.

"If you come a little closer. I'll give it to you." He gently proposed and put his hand in his pant's pocket.

When standing, she showed great curiousity when his hand formed a loose fist.

"Ready?" He smiled.

Yumeko nodded.

When the opened fist revealed nothing, the little girl's disappointment soon faded away, after the feeling of puckered lips pressed against her right cheek.

"I got you again. I got you again." Kazuto expressed in a singsongy voice. "Sorry kid, but I'm on a budget." He hugged her.

"Again?" She looked very confused.

So she doesn't remember us? Kazuto sighed and rubbed her head. "It was a long time ago. Don't worry about it."

Yumeko walked over to the bar counter to be with the others.

Rinko lowered her head in apology. "I still don't understand it. I show pictures and say your names, but most of the time she just forgets."

"Does she know her nicknames?" Asuna sounded concern.

Rinko nodded. "You're the only ones that address as such, so not until I told her that she will be called by that name."

"How is her developement in daycare? Is she falling behind?" Rika asked.

Rinko shook her head. "According to the staff members, she's moving faster than the others, but she's always in the corner by herself and rarely talks to anyone else."

"She must feel very lonely, but doesn't realize it yet." Suguha sighed.

"Does she have kind of friend? Even an imaginary one?" Asuna questioned furthur.

Rinko pondered for a moment. "Not that I know of." She untruthfully responded. "I'm afriad, she behaves the same way at home as well."

Kazuto hid his clenched fists under the table, his teeth gritting. He had recieved an email from Rinko a day before, telling about his niece's friendly attachment to an imperceptiable character.

"So we have a little genius on our hands. We better be careful about what we say then." Keiko said with a little laugh at the end.

"Things are going to be steep for her in the long run, but we will be there for her." Asuna held the older woman's hand.

"We haven't seen each other in months, but for her sake, we won't give up." Shino's voice was at it's typical calm tone.

"We'll call more, and try very hard to come visit." Suguha added.

"We're not as educated as you are but we'll teach her things. Important things." Rika promised.

Rinko lowered her head and thanked the young adults in upmost graditude.

The woman thought about the time her own friends had made the promise they wouldn't drift apart after their own high school days were far behind them.

As they were accepted into different post secondary educational institutes and different part time jobs, scheduling a proper get together was most of time out of the question. One of the three became a mother a year after high school. Another went to medical school and the last was cooperating in the making of the world's debut VRMMORPG.

After the ending of the SAO incident, the news of the scientist's pregnancy brought them closer together, but not as it used to be.

She feared that the same was going to happen to them, in actuality it already started. They have started to move on with their own lives and holding onto their dreams and goals as long as they can but also trying their hardest to keep in touch no matter what, holding onto every detail their minds are willing to absorb. How long with their friendships continue to latch on?

She could sometimes see Kazuto as they were both employed under the mysterious company known as Rath after the events of Project Alicization, but even those were rare as the young part timer was also a university student.

Suguha and Keiko used to visit the apartment once in a while, but were caught up in their own personal activities, as they were both now in their senior year of high school busy with job hunting and college entrance examinations. It wouldn't be long until both of them were moving on to expand their own horizons and move on like the rest.

The mother would often worry about her growing daughter's interpersonal and intrapersonal proficency. Her overall intellect is outstanding for someone holding an overwhelming medical past and hasn't even entered kindergarten yet. Sometimes the scientist would often think if or if not the young one could posess an higher intelligence quoitent then herself or possibly higher then the toddler's biological father. That thought would scare her the most of all.

"She might just be introverted." The sound of Keiko's voice snapped Rinko out of her deep reflective daze.

Kazuto gave a little laugh. "I'm not surprised, introverts have some of the greatest minds this world has to offer."

"That's right, onee-san is a very intelligent person." Asuna smiled as the others nodded.

"I fully agree to your keen observation." Rinko cheerfully winked.

"I was refering to myself and then onee-sensei." Kazuto smirked.

"It's not very nice to be cocky, Kirito-kun." Asuna raised her eyebrow.

"I said her as well."

"It's still being cocky, onii-chan." Suguha defended Asuna's statement.

"What is with you women and defending each other?" He sighed.

"It's women's intution." His cousin smirked.

Kazuto's eyes widened. "I told you not to say that word." He spased.

"You mean intuition?" His cousin teased.

"That too." He looked her straight in the eye.

"She can say whatever she wants to. She's a high school senior." Rika confronted him.

The young black haired adult narrowed his eyes at her. "High school, not college. And she's technically a minor until she graduates."

Asuna tsked. "If I recall correctly, I am older. So I'm telling you that your sister can say whatever she pleases."

"Only by a year and as her olderbrother, I object. And I know for a fact that another one will agree." He then pointed to the younger teenager on the other side of the cafe.

"Whoa, easy there bro. Don't drag me down with you."

"But I thought we had a connection..." Kazuto sounded hurt and betrayed.

"I disconnect whenever you get in trouble with them."

"Smart boy, we've trained you well." Rinko raised her thumb in approval.

"Wait, you won't care when Yumemi will say those types of things when she's older?" Kazuto asked the blonde boy.

Takato simply shrugged. "I'm 12 years older than her, so by that time she'll have her own mind, so I can't really stop her. Plus I live with my mom, so I'm used to hearing that stuff."

Kazuto moved his attention to Klein.

"I'm with him." Klein whispered rubbing his step-daughter's back as she laid on his shoulder.

"You'll understand when your older."Agil chuckled.

"And what if I don't?"

The three males at the shared brief glances. "Good luck." They whispered back.

"Did she fall asleep?" Rinko asked.

Klein simply nodded and gave her the small resting body.

"I'll go start the car." Takato jingled the ring of keys.

Klein pulled on his shirt collar. "If you're not back in five, I'm calling the cops and you can forget about bail."

"There goes my plans." Takato gave a sardonic sigh.

Rinko cleared her throat. "Let me rephrase that. If you aren't back within the next five mintues, I am telling my very dear friend what her son did on a certain summer's day."

The boy's brown eyes widened. "I'll be back in three." The baseball player hurridly ran outside of the building.

"If you want to poke her, now I would be a good time." Rinko said to Kazuto.

"I can? Really?" He excitedly whispered and nearly jumping out of his seat.

Standing next to his sisterly mentor, Kazuto crouched down to his knees.

His black irises refusing to turn away from the niece he loved very much. He often would fondly remember the time where the first touch he gave to her, helped the little loved one literally find her voice and led her to release her first social cry.

When looking at old pictures and video footage whether in the real world or ALO, he always felt guilty and torn, that he missed out on so much after resisting many unpaid hospital visits he didn't make because of being friegthened and didn't want to see her suffer in that incubator, while all he could at the time was helplessly sit there and watch.

From the first time he held her, the youth knew that they will share a warm, strong bond.

He slowly shook Yumeko's hands as the toddler was cradled in the up-right position.

Kazuto softly stroked her very dark grey hair, smiling he always has whenever she was in his reach.

Tapping her face with his finger, he stopped to run his thumb downward the side of her face.

The sleeping girl squirmed a little, something she used to do whenever he did that.

Before she started to learn speech, the girl would be mewling, yawning and opening her eyes, coming detatched from her deep sleep. Now, her eyes were still shut.

Her mouth made a small groan. "Ka-zu. Asu... Su-gu... Ri-ka... Kei-ko... Shi-no... All gone."

Rinko's heart nearly skipped a beat as she looked at the melancholic, faces of the younger group.

"She's very smart..." Kazuto went back on his legs, trying to erase the crestfallenness of his voice.

Takato came back inside in the now, silent and gloomy cafe.

He took four minutes, instead of his self granted and agreed upon three.

* * *

**Thank you very much for reading the chapter! Leave a comment if you like!**

 


	22. Honey Holiday

**I don't own or have any affiliation with Sword Art Online. I apologize for any grammatical or spelling errors, made in the text. This is from my fanfiction.net account!**

* * *

**Chapter 22: Honey Holiday**

"Thanks goodness we finally made it." Rinko flopped her body onto the hotel bed, after dropping her suitcase on the carpeted floor.

Her husband closed the door behind him carrying an addtional two more suitcases with him. "What do you want to do first?" Klein asked.

Exhausted from the overwhelming car ride from their apartment to Kazuto and Asuna's apartment to the couples booked hotel room was close to a five-hour road trip.

Rinko had protested the idea of traveling via a speed bullet train to cut the time for the very long excursion since it will limit the time they could sit together hand-in-hand privately. A decision she didn't regret to make.

The belated honeymoon was all planned out by their five-year-old daughter, with some assistance of her honorary relatives, secretly swiped Klein's credit card and copied down the number on a piece of paper, booking the room a whole week in advanced before the respective couple's fourth wedding anniversary.

"Sleep." His wife simply answered.

"Are you sure? The pool's still open for another two hours."

Rinko shook her head, removing her thin cardigan exposing her bare arms from the sleeveless tank top and nestles her body in the soft mattress laying on her left side in a fetal sleeping position. Klein joined her as he changed his shirt.

After their brief nap, they ordered room service for dinner and celebratory champagne.

During the meal, they both decided to look through some of the photos in the album. Most of them years old. Smiling at the good times in the beginning of their parenting.

"I can't believe I fell asleep during her homecoming party." Rinko admired her focus the snapshot.

Klein chuckled. "Hey, you both deserved it."

"At least being cuddled by you... Until you fell asleep." She smiled.

"It's not my fault, she started to level up on her AOE skill..." He muttered softly.

Turning a few pages, the mother pressed her fingertips on a picture showing her daughter's first steps, then smoothed her hand over to the one underneath it, showing Yumeko face-down on the floor. Klein gently rubbed her lower back.

"I was really surprised when _you_ held me back that time." Rinko looked at him.

Klein circled thumb on her hand which was covering the printed retentiveness.

"You didn't freak out like I thought you've would. You just looked sad and touched her face."

Klein nodded at the years old memory.

"I'm actually a little envious of you." She conceded.

"Why?"

" _I_ may be her _favourite_ parent, _but_ I wasn't her _first_ word."

"She called for you after me. Two words in one day was a really big deal for her." He slowly raised his laying self, giving her a short shoulder rub.

Rinko quickly wiped her eyes.

Klein kissed her neck. "If _you're_ the one that's crying, then _who_ am I going to be in this relationship?" He closed the book of memories for now at least.

"I think I should give them a call..." Rinko envisaged the intention.

Klein sighed taking the phone away. "You called them when we reached the lobby and before dinner. If you do it now she'll get worried that something's wrong. And since kind of a long distance call, it'll charge me more. It's even costing me laying down and breathing." He nuzzles her face with his sharp nose.

Taking a moment to calm down, Rinko played his hair. "In that case, how about we go to the pool after breakfast?"

He agreed pulling her closer to him as she laid her body, filling in the small gap in between.

"You know I always felt bad for _you_ , when she was a baby." She sighed.

"How come?"

"In the first few months you always came home to her crying." She continued.

"That was because of the colic. I felt so sorry for her when it went from mild to worse. She tried really hard to stop crying, but her face would get redder."

"And I would call you at work all stressed out then you would have to drive all the way back home just to hear all of that screaming." Rinko sounded apologetic.

"She was worth it. I felt more bad for you. You had her a lot longer." He pressed his hand on her top of her head.

The woman's smile slowly reemerged. "She always liked your massages. Put her right to sleep."

"She never liked when I stopped." Klein stretched his arms.

His wife sat up straight again and turned to a group of similar pictures. She wanted to make a personal scrapbook of her own but didn't have a proper chance or time to. Which she didn't really mind since there were already so many snapshots and no real room for any handwritten sentimental messages or page decoration. In fact, due to the colossal amount of colourful digital printed film paper, she decided to arrange them like an old colorful puzzle game Rinko loved since childhood where the tiles must create one or multiple diagonal lines in order to pass each level.

The two back-to-back pages were strategically placed massage pictures of her then adjusted newborn little loved love. "Her favourite part were those beautiful back massages you did. They kept her so relaxed. They were my favourite too."

"It was the least I could do. You two were always stressed out even more then me, and they were good excuses to kiss her." Klein made small circular motions on her neck.

"So did you _ever_ reach those _one million_ kisses you promised to give when she got of the hospital?" Rinko teased.

Klein carressed the left side of her face. "I lost count _years_ ago."

She smirked and turned to the pages that were closer to the front cover of the book. "Remember this?" Her slender finger pointed to the one that showed a topless version of Klein carrying a very small body, with wires and tubes attached to it, being covered in a pink blanket and small pink cap.

A reddish hue grew on his face. "It was the first time I held her. I was really nervous."

"You took such good care of her, you knew she loved you." Rinko pecked his left cheek.

"Yeah, but I wasn't the one who clung on to. When you were about to kiss her, she moved her head closer, and your lips almost touched her mouth. That was a beautiful sight."

Rinko nodded lightly at his words. "Even the nurses and doctors didn't see anything like that." She then laid her head on his shoulder.

"You wanna know what _another_ beautiful sight is?" Klein closed the book.

"What?"

"You dreaming with your eyes closed." He pressed his lips on her hair.

Rinko laid on left side, her ear close against his chest. Her heart felt heavy with all of those timeless recollections being forever sealed in pictorial film paper.

The woman wished she could experience them for the first time again but at the same time wanted to make them stay in picture form forever.

* * *

It was some time after the couple's room ordered breakfast.

Klein was in the shower some minutes after his wife had started to dry off her short black hair.

Putting down the dryer for a brief moment, she flipped her hair to brush it and check for any wet clomps that may have been left behind.

Finishing the step, Rinko double-checked that the door was locked before unloosening the belt from the short white robe.

Reaching for her one-piece swimsuit, her hands stop what they were doing.

Her slender fingers brushing the area just between her stomach.

Its now five years post the caesarian surgery, with some advice from the nurses and online articles, the transverse cicatrix was minimized, but not entirely vanquished, neither body or memory. Though, the mark on her sternum seemed to vaporize from her skin, during her body's gestational period.

She hated the blemish that prevented her from wearing a two-piece bathing suit with gentle ease, but in an odd intricacy, appreciated the fact that obtaining this scar, also led her to obtain the knowledge of her daughter's inexhaustible, perplexing and enigmatic strength. How her darling one is much more stronger than her brought her great reticent satisfaction, but also to her trepidation, possibly smarter than the scientist as well.

However, the woman loathed thinking about the scar nonetheless looking or touching at it. In all integrity she didn't want to go to the hotel pool in the first place, however only suggested the activity for the sake of her husband after being charged a great sum of money for the luxurious suite.

When finding out this secret plan on the morning of their wedding anniversary, she chuckled at her daughter's reveal of acquiring such a divine room, declaring that 'deluxe parents deserve a deluxe room and nothing less'. Rinko then retaliated by saying the _main_ reason why they are like that is _only_ because of their 'deluxe daughter'.

The woman quickly put on her tankini as the sound of running water behind the bathroom door had came to a sudden halt.

She was standing next to a duffel bag, in her blue flip-flops and towel which matched well with yellow suit and shorts outfit and huge black sunglasses.

Her husband came out wearing a longer robe then what her's was. _Try not to nosebleed._ Klein quickly thought to himself. Old habits die hard.

After roughly drying his own hair, he had gotten himself in a pair of simple swimming trunks matching his bandana wearing a pair of light sandals and holding a towel.

Klein opened the door and nearly stepped out into the hallway, feeling her hand pull him slightly aback.

"Remember what ring you're wearing." Rinko whispered the remark and ended with a rather dry , smug laugh, leaving the lavish in front of him.

_Now I really need to try not to nosebleed._ Klein gulped.

* * *

Rinko was lying in a small cabana just several inches from the enormous, deep, ceramic tiled body of chlorinated water, meanwhile Klein was getting them drinks as they wanted to enjoy the glorious weather of the day.

"Are these chairs taken?" A female voice sounded similar to that of a composed elegant alto met with Rinko's ear drums.

Taking off her big sunglasses, her eyes met with the of a tall woman with long silver hair tied of in a ponytail signifying intelligence, wearing a dark red bikini swimsuit matching her intensely shining, sky-blue eyes and gold earrings. She was also holding two half-folded towels on her left arm.

Rinko wore a duchenne smile telling the stranger both chairs were available.

In effort to be better acquainted with each other, the woman informed Rinko that she can be called by her real name, or by her in-game name, Yulier.

In the beginning of their conversation they discovered that they were both married, and have daughters of their own and even showed some pictures from their cell phones.

"How long have you've been married?" Yulier asked.

"We just had our fourth anniversary yesterday." Rinko fondly smiled.

"How old is your daughter then?"

"She's five now." Rinko gave a half smile.

"So you had her before you got married?"

Rinko nodded.

"She looks a lot like you, but not at all like your husband." Yulier recited her observation, hoping she didn't offend the mother.

"He's her step-father." Rinko's eyes lowered, trying not to bite on her lips.

"I see."

Klein came along with another man, who had wavy, umber brown hair and brown eyes. He also had what only could be described as having a quality of gentleness.

Like his wife, he also gave the option of addressing via his real life name or by his gaming alias, Thinker.

Klein mentioned that they originally met him years ago during the Aincrad Capture Commemorative Party on the day of the ALO relaunch, and is a reader of his website,

Rinko told them she wanted to attend that offline meeting, but had _other_ business to attend. Then she teased her spouse, commenting that she had gone, would have _definitely_ forced him to wear better clothes.

Klein glared his narrow eyes and pinched his partner's cheeks until red.

Thinker and Yulier invited the couple over to lunch before parting their ways.

As she got to properly Rinko then unexpectedly tripped over her flip flop stumbling over it and dunked into the large hotel pool.

Yulier instantly went into help her as Thinker passed a towel.

Klein was trying to dry off his shivering wife, but seeing both beautiful women in soaked bathing outfits, unintentionally triggered a small spot of crimson liquid to exit from his right nostril. Prompting his wife to lightly slap him with the towel, reminding him _what_ _kind of ring_ he had on his finger.

"We should really get out of these wet clothes. Our daughter's wouldn't like it if we got sick during our vacations." Yulier took her hand and led her into the changing room.

* * *

The two began changing after receiving pairs of fresh clothes from their partners.

"I _can't_ tell you how sorry I am. I'm _not_ a klutz really. I don't know why I didn't pay proper attention hard enough." They were the words Rinko had used as her sincere apology since both women wanted to sit down and chat and didn't want to go into the water.

"It's alright really. It wasn't very smart of me to think I was going to be one hundred percent dry sitting and talking a few inches from a pool that size." Yulier said while switching from a drenched to dry wardrobe. "But my hair _isn't_ too thrilled about it." She showed an encouraging smile.

Rinko lowered her head, hanging it above her hand which was laid in a diagonal fashion just above her stomach. _Even with this colour, you can still see that thing when this is wet._ She helplessly thought.

Yulier's smile faded. "Is something wrong?" The silver haired women asked.

Rinko blinked and raised and shook her head. "It's nothing." She put on a brave smile. "It was just thinking if I really do end up catching a cold after all. My daughter would be upset." She answered after disloving from her own wet attire.

Yulier nodded in agreement and sat closer to her. "That's the last thing a mother ever wants for their child."

"You said your daughter is five, correct? That mean's she's in third year kindergarten?" Yulier brought up for more talk.

"That's right."

Yulier heavily sighed. "Mine just entered her first year in April. I must admit it's a bit lonely..."

Rinko touched her knee. "The first few months are always the hardest."

Yulier showed a small smile. "It's funny no matter how much you prepare them for life, then the first day of school comes along..."

"I still think I was more nervous than her. She was calm, excited, shy and reluctant all at the same time." Rinko gave a little snicker.

Yulier chuckled. "I'm glad to know I wasn't the only one."

After getting a tad more acquainted with each other by their talking, which made them stay much longer then they hoped for until they reminded themselves they had husbands.

After their lunch, they decided the mothers showed more pictures of their children, while their husbands were pouring their own drinks and holding their own personal chat session.

Looking at Yulier's healthier and full-term pregnancy was a nice change for Rinko after she showed her incomplete pregnancy photos alongside ones that were taken in the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit. Ultimately, leading the silver haired woman to be awestruck by each one.

"Your daughter is so beautiful." Rinko awed, pointing to a little girl with sliver hair and brown eyes.

"Let's not forget about yours. She's called Himeko, Yuriko and Yumemi? No wonder she looks so happy."

Rinko turned to the same picture showing Yumeko had fallen onto the floor. Then a humorous one Klein sputtering his drink.

"Um, why is Klein-san choking?" Yulier wondered.

"Oh, a friend made a joke about _she's_ going to run after boys _instead_ of them lining up at our doorstep."

The women glanced at each trying to keep their quivering lips intact, but failed and starting guffawing out loud until their eyes began tearing.

"It looks like we have a couple of heart breakers on our hands." Yulier laid her hand on Rinko's shoulder, who returned the same gesture.

"Of course we do!" Rinko's chest puffed in maternal pride.

Klein coughed as he was swallowing. "Like _hell,_ you do!" His face turned red.

Thinker handed him a napkin. "Dear, we've _talked about this_..."

Rinko kissed her husband's face in apology.

* * *

That night came along with great ease until the time came to finally depart from each other and bidding an expected adieu.

Until the roar of thunder echoed outside the Rinko and Klein's window.

* * *

**Thank you very much for reading! Leave a review if you'd like! :)**


	23. Gaming Battlefield

**I don't own or have any affiliation with Sword Art Online. I apologize for any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors that were made into the text.**

* * *

**Chapter 23:**

**Overnighters Part 1: Gaming Battlefield**

_**Friday, August 24th, 2030 12:03 PM** _

Yumeko's parents had just dropped her off at Kazuto and Asuna's apartment. Clutching onto the handle of her suitcase, she settled it onto the soft mattress and sat next to it.

_Click._ The clips unclenched serving as an opening for the piece of luggage.

Asuna kindly smiles at the quiet child offering her to help unpack which the girl shyly declined.

Then the young woman told her that when she's ready, the girl can come out and enjoy some homemade treats that recently came out of the oven before exiting the room.

There were several keepsakes inside the suitcase aside from a toothbrush, clothes, personal tablet computer and summer homework. Yumeko couldn't recall the amount of times she had gone through the list of things to take with her, checking them over and over repeatedly, worrying not to forget a single item. A bundled quilt was placed on the bedsheet.

Unfolding it, revealing a bright pink minirature teddy bear with black eyes and nose and an old handmade red scarf.

Feeling relieved having not forgotten anything, Yumeko smoothed her small fingers around the heart-shaped recording pendant and the orange crest that was a piece of merchandise from a very old televised series which was given to the character with the most 'courage'. Yet the girl didn't understand why she had gotten to begin with but secretly wanted to find out the reason why.

A chill ran down her spine as a small knock was made on the other side of the closed door.

"C-come in." Yumeko shouted infirmly.

The door handle unhinged and a little squeak was heard as it widened. A smiling young man in his early twenties entered and crouched down some inches from her.

"It's been a long time since we met in person, Yumemi-chan." He stretched his hands forward.

The kindergartener reciprocated by lowering her head and muttering a simple 'hello' instead.

Shifting his eyes to his right, Kazuto noticed the keepsakes sitting beside her, especially the palm sized bear he and Suguha bought the evening before the child was unexpectedly born.

Next, he moved his black irises over to the two pendants attached to the thin gold chin around her neck.

He and Rinko have been emailing each other back and forth since the two people met. It was only recently that he began to address his niece by real given name, at least in a private electronic form, saying that he felt it was in a way, lying to himself by calling the young one by a nickname that bare absolute no resembalance to the name written on the birth certificate, no matter how special the petname was to him, which at times did not feel right at times.

"You have a lot of things with you. Do you always keep them close?" His voice was calm.

Yumeko gave a minor nod.

"May I ask why?"

"When people give you beautiful gifts like these, that means they put in a lot of thought and hard work to give it to you, since they put in a piece of their soul into it."

Kazuto took a compendious moment to execute a modest smile. "Did you come up with that all on your own?"

Yumeko simply moved her head one side to the next, telling that her 'friend' did.

Hearing that made Kazuto's eyes widen for a second. In the latest email, Rinko mentioned that her daughter had once told her that a so-called friend said that keeping gifts is in a way keeping a part of one's soul alive. The email also said that his niece has no physical friends in school, according to the words of the teaching staff. On the other hand, the troubling electronic letter ended on a cheerier note informing him that the little girl can engage in very good conversations, has a big sweet tooth, a helpful cleaner and a bookworm with a budding interest in computers and cooking.

Kazuto sighed streching his hand out again telling her that Asuna ordered him to tell Yumeko that the cookies and brownies have cooled off, and wouldn't taste good enough if left cold and hard.

Not wanting to hurt Asuna's feelings, Yumeko simply got up and walked out the door.

The brownies had bits of strawberry and vanilla wafers while the medium-sized biscuits contained chocolate chips, walnuts, dried strawberries and small bits of caramel.

Much to Asuna's delightful joy, the child are one of each treat and drank all the milk in the glass. Meanwhile, Kazuto had double her amount with his tea, commenting on how a majority of calories he burns while thinking at work pay off in the long run to enjoy more of his beautiful fiancé's wonderful cooking.

* * *

"Hey Yumemi-chan, do you want to play a game?" Kazuto was holding an old white game console and two white remotes with leather straps hanging out.

Looking at the many years old gaming equipment, the five-year-old accepted the fun-looking offer.

They decided to play different kinds of sports by waving the remote in certain motions to get the avatars on the screen to move.

"You beat me. Good...game." Yumeko frowned and her eyes began to water, as Kazuto was rubbing his shoulder.

Asuna came in the living room and placed the tray of cold drinks on the coffee table.

Yumeko ran to her aunt's leg and grabbed onto the apron. Asuna slowly climbed down to her knees and rubbed her niece's soft hair, trying not to ruin the red ribbon with the small golden bells on it. "Uncle's a little mean, isn't he?"

"The real world is _even meaner_." Kazuto declared and took one of the glasses.

Asuna looked her fiance unamused and back to her niece. "You want to help me make lunch?"

The girl nodded in acceptance.

"Don't go near the knives, you'll get cut and loose _all_ the blood in your body." Kazuto said in an eerie tone.

Yumeko dug in her deep into the woman's apron once more.

"Stop scaring her." Asuna grunted.

"It can't be helped. It's my job as an uncle."

She narrowed her hazel eyes. "You're just lucky _she's_ in the room."

* * *

After having their lunch, Asuna spent some time helping the young elementary school student with some of her summer homework.

When Yumeko was left alone sitting on the couch while Kazuto came in with a stack of boxes in his hands.

Being distracted from the imagery Yumeko's attention was transferred from the small tablet screen and read the board game names. Checkers, chess and Go.

Kazuto apologized for his unfairness from earlier and offered the girl to choose which game they should play instead.

The order went from her favourite game Go, then checkers and decided to move onto chess.

After being defeated by her in each game, the 21-year-old recent university graduate challenged the child to a very old video game in which the player must repeatedly slide a two-dimensional rectangular bar up and down the screen to earn points. The match resulted in five games going to Yumeko, and the remaining two were entitled to Kazuto.

The computer enthusiast cringed when he heard the words 'king me' or 'checkmate', his hands clammed as many of his pieces were taken by her fleet of white stones skated around the light brown board. Sighed in defeat when he saw only a single from winning the casual game of strategy and observation.

_When_ _onee-sensei and Klein, mentioned she was this good, I should have taken them more seriously._ However, Kazuto felt proud of the girl's determination and stamina for her age.

Yumeko let out a yawn and looked as if she was going to collapse right there as her eyes were filled with drowsiness.

He picks her up and completes her request to get the quilt.

The small body nestles into the sofa after removing the necklace and her glasses, yawning again as Kazuto glided his hand up and down her back.

She closed her eyes.

The adult fondly smiles as he reminises the day when all of the then high school students decided to look after her by themselves.

He was alone with her for forty-five mintues before Asuna made it to the apartment.

At first he was a little nervous before finding out he was going to be alone with the colicky infant, but managed well when she broke out screaming three times.

The third time, Kazuto realized it was a nightmare, as she flailed her arms and kicked mostly with her left foot, the screeching made his ear drums start to hurt. Not wanting to see her go on, the teenager swaddled her again and began to smooth her hair, whispering and shushing continously for several mintues.

It was one of the only times he really felt like a good uncle, but that was before he unexpectedly helped the infant give her very first smile that day, the important milestone moved him to happy tears. He had finally forgiven himself for not going to the hospital very often after the day of her birth.

The total of his visitation days was three.

The day of her birth. When he saw his newly operated sisterly mentor and his friends, the psychical description the boy gave that night was from a medical paper on a clipboard that was noticeably still wet with black ink and not from his own eyes as the teenager wasn't able to look at the fragile, palm-sized, miniature figure in the clear plastic incubator that had wires and tubes attached to its paper thin skin. He couldn't watch her suffer. After reaching his bed, he barely slept after silently crying for more than half the night.

The second time was the very next day with his friends came back to Rinko's room to celebrate the 'belated baby shower'.

The third, when he promised Rinko to keep the two certain secrets between them. He still has the piece of paper that his niece's birth certificate name was written on, for some reason unable to get rid of it or write a duplicate.

A vibration was felt in his pocket. It was the alarm he had set to go off after twenty-five minutes.

He poked the peaceful face to wake her up.

* * *

"Hey what are you reading _nerd_?" Kazuto teased.

"It's...my favourite book." Yumeko quietly hinted.

"What's it about?" He leaned over to get a closer look, but the child laid it on the table and covered the opened pages by moving her face towards the text.

"Push yourself any closer, and you'll going to need glasses." He jested.

"I'm reading them and you know it." She replied annoyed cleaning the lenses of her red squared eyesight spectacles.

"Stop teasing her, and help me with the table Kirito-kun." Asuna was taking off her apron.

"I can't help it when she keeps it going." He shrugged.

After the everything was set, the three sat down with their plates.

"So sweetie, what were you just reading?" The strawberry blonde poured a drink for their guest.

"My new favourite book, oba-san." Yumeko showed a half-smile.

"Favourite?" Asuna asked.

Yumeko nodded. "It's non-fictional." She hinted.

Asuna began to think.

Kauzto laughed. "Wow, you really _are_ a nerd. The only non-fictional stuff I ever read is work."

"So who wrote it honey?" Asuna questioned.

Yumeko looked down at her feet. "One of my favourite writers." Her voice was quiet.

"I see."

The girl got up from her chair and brought back the leatherbound book. "I'm...sure you may have seen it before." She placed it left of Asuna's plate, but the child's hand cover the title. "It's about love."

Asuna instinctly patted the small cold hand with her warm one.

"What kind of love?" Kazuto sounded concerned.

"A...strong one." Her voice remained soft and quiet. She brushed her hand away from the cover's title.

Asuna's hazel eyes widened.

Kazuto instantly stood beside his fiance's right side.

A Mother's Strength was the engraved feature title.

They both stood quiet, unsure of how to react or respond.

"Where did you get this?" Asuna turned to her.

"I took it from her study before we left..." Yumeko looked down.

A tear came down her face. "I'm sorry. I didn't know I got Mama sick. I didn't know I was born early. I know I'm a bad girl." Her words were still clear under the bluddering tone as she choked on the tears and dove into Asuna's arms.

"You have it all wrong sweetheart. We're all very proud. Our Himeko-chan is a very wonderful person." Asuna rubbed her back and gently pushed the girl in front of her.

"She's right. You're strong, brave, loyal and very smart. Knowing someone like you is a lifetime blessing." Kazuto brushed the tears of the small face.

"How about I make you a big cup of hot cocoa. With big marshmallows, chocolated shavings and whipped cream." Asuna's hand smooth the very dark grey hair.

Yumeko sniffled. "With wafers and chocolate syrup too?"

Asuna nodded and turned on the cooling stove burner.

"I'll go get the stuff right now. Oh yeah, I should add cookies on the list too." Kazuto went into the coat closet.

"Don't take too long Kirito-kun!" His finace shouted.

"I'll be back in 20 minutes." He swiped his phone and keys.

Closing the door behind him, he drooped his head and leaned his back onto the wooden door. _Thank god, it was only pregnancy one._

Yumeko tapped on Asuna's leg. "I'm going to finish dinner now. You put in a lot of effort, and Mama and Papa said it's bad to waste food."

She sat back in her seat, wondering if the main reason her aunts and uncles love her because of the conditions of her birth.

* * *

The three sat down to watch to a scary movie.

Asuna had her warm arms surrounding her niece.

Kazuto seemed to be taking pleasure into observing the events on the television screen.

Deciding she had enough spookiness for one night and tired from how her day went, the young woman got up.

However Yumeko decided to stay in the living area and 'complete the quest for the both of them'.

"Good luck Himeko-chan. You're so heroic." She kissed her forehead.

Yumeko subsituted her aunt's arms with a pillow cushion.

"Yumemi-chan if you want, I can change it to something else." Kazuto patted her head.

"I like scary movies."

"But why did you look scare when Asuna was holding you?"

"I thought if I'd fake cry, you'd get in trouble with as payback for earlier, but the time didn't come."

Kazuto raised his eyebrows. "You little..."

"Genius." She finished his statement.

Smirking at the comment, he messes up her long, straight, brushed hair.

A booming sound was followed by a white flash and heavy raindrops.

The girl covered her ears and into a sobbing, shaking curled up ball.

The thunder continued to roar and lightning flash.

The girls sobbing turned into tears glistening down her face.

When the noise returned, Yumeko laid her forehead onto Kazuto's leg.

He smoothed her back until the shaking stopped and her covered her with the quilt.

"Mama." She whimpered.

Kazuto reaches over his phone and texts Asuna to come outside.

Asuna used to have her own fear of thunder, but fortunately was able to confront and overcome it.

Asuna slowly reached for the pendant and pressed the emerald button, putting the speaker near Yumeko's right ear as Kazuto massaged her earlobes. Something he hasn't done in many years.

A while later the thundestorm seemed to have subsided.

Asuna carried her into the spare room as the clock showed it was nearly 10:30 PM.

* * *

The 22-year-old woman laid her long, pink night gown on queen sized bed.

"Hey, are you still bothered from before?" Her finace laid next to her in his typical black sleepwear.

She silently nodded.

"Thankfully it was just the pregnancy one. If it was the hospital one..." Kazuto paused and took a deep breathe.

She cuddled closer to him brigding the tiny space between them. "Kirito-kun, do you remember that horrible fever she had after getting discharged?"

His fingers interlocked with hers. "It happened three days after. It was really scary, almost fatal too. She wasn't moving for hours."

"Onee-san didn't eat or sleep at all, it took Himeko-chan two days before she could leave. We didn't even know that was only the beginning of her...other problems." Asuna's voice went a little quiet.

"Remember when she started walking, and the way onee-sensei looked?" Kazuto reached to turn off the table lamp next to him.

"I don't know about her, but I do recall seeing the faces of four certain males on film." She soon-to-be-bride chuckled.

"It was the because of the look she gave when she fell down on her face." Kazuto sounded a little defensive.

"Yeah, but she wasn't the one crying." The woman gave a smug face.

"Those _weren't_ tears, they were _liquid pride_." He grumbled.

"We should take her take to the mall tomorrow. There's a bookstore she might like." Asuna suggested and snuggled into his chest.

"Is something else bothering you?"

She sighed. "When I tucked her in, she thanked me for making her feel a little less lonely, since she doesn't really have any friends at school."

"She's a little kid, there's still a little more time to make some. Did she tell you why?" He wrapped his arm around her waist.

"I didn't want to ask, she already cried once tonight."

A loud thunder clap was heard and lightning bolt flashed through the couple's room window.

Moments later, a sharp, fast knocking was coming from the other side of the door.

The woman got up and a small body wrapped around hers instantly.

"Can I sleep with you?" The chidlish voice was frightened.

"Come on in." Kazuto made some extra room on the bed. When the girl came in to the mattress he kissed her head, telling her that the storm's only temperoray.

The child snuggled into Asuna's upper body like a kitten. "I love you, oba-san. Good night." Yumeko chimed.

"What about me?" Kazuto patted her back.

"I'll think about it." She giggled.

"I gave you the better nickname." He sighed.

Asuna put her finger on her lips. "She's been helping me all day." She whispered.

Kazuto sighed again and laid back down. "Good night."

* * *

**Asuna's "fear of thunder" is a reference to momoxtoshiro's SAO fanfic "Waking Up To You" (and was used with her permission). Thank you very much for reading. Leave a review if you want!**


	24. Emporium

**I don't own or have any association with Sword Art Online. I apologize for any grammatical or spelling errors that were made in to the text. Big thanks to the help from my friends.**

* * *

**Chapter 24:**

**Overnighters Part 2: Emporium**

_**Saturday, August 25th, 2030 9:30 AM** _

Kazuto woke up to the aroma of eggs, hot oil and fresh coffee. "Asuna's making breakfast." He muttered sotto voce.

He sat up rubbing his eyes open, only to look to his left and find his future bride asleep.

She also woke up as the captivating scent traveled to her senses.

"If you're here then..." Kazuto bolted out of the bed and into the kitchen.

"Yumemi, are you-!" He paused when he was three plates filled his scrambled eggs and toast.

_It's not burned down_. He breathed in instantaneous alleviation. In an anime, this situation could have displayed as a the character's chibi self having large, bolded black lines and wavy light blue lines representing tears, while a round fist covering their heart.

Asuna walked in her sleeping gown rubbing the drowsiness in her eyes. "Did you make this?"

Yumeko nodded.

"We'll go wash up." Asuna blissfully took Kazuto's arm and ran into the bathroom.

When they got out, two porcelain white cups and saucers on the table filled with fresh coffee with steam flowing above the rim.

"Eat up before it gets cold." Yumeko turned off the stove after placing the light pan fried toast onto a separate plate.

The three of them sat down and started to participate in some talk.

"The reunion is coming soon. We should go shopping when there's still have a chance." Kazuto sipped the usual morning beverage.

"Himeko-chan these eggs are _so_ good." Asuna praised in delight.

"Mama and Papa taught me some things in the kitchen." Yumeko smiled. "I can also make pancakes, cupcakes, muffins, fried eggs, tea, oatmeal and cereal." She drank half a glass of orange juice.

"Are you _sure_ you're five?" Kazuto leaned his face closer to hers.

"I have doctor's papers." Yumeko finished her meal.

"Can you make dinner too?" The young man teased.

His fiance narrowed her eyes directly at him.

"What? She might as well do _something besides_ raising our bills."

"Momentai, oji-san." Yumeko washed her dishes.

"Can you teach him _not_ how to start a fire?" Asuna chuckled.

"Sorry oba-san, but I'm _not_ a miracle worker." The girl bluntly spoke and to the living room.

"You know, someday your gonna make her cry again. Remember what happened _last_ time?" Asuna put her hands on her hips.

"I didn't know that the mask was going to scare her that bad." Kazuto looked like he was in battle mode.

"She was only two and waking up from her nap." Asuna tsked and took his plate to the sink.

"Oh I almost forgot, I was talking to her the other day and Rika is going to bring her boyfriend then. They've been going out for a couple of months. We _finally_ get to meet him." Asuna cleared the small counter and smooth top stove.

"Who has a boyfriend?" Yumeko asked.

"Rika." Asuna repeated.

_Riri-san has a boyfriend..._ The kindergartner silently thought to herself.

* * *

"Which store should we had to first?" Asuna asked her groom-to-be.

"I need to get some shirts." Kazuto pointed at the nearest clothing store.

"Can I help you? Mama and I help Papa with his." His niece requested.

"Okay, then. After that we can head to your choice." He agreed.

Kazuto found an available changing cubicle as the girl and woman were looking through the hangers.

"No, no. That's not it. Try _this_ colour." Yumeko held a hanger with a pink shirt.

"I guess it could work..." Kazuto reluctantly went back in the confined space.

"Grey would look nice on him. He wears too many dark clothes." Asuna began to think.

"I was thinking maybe a yellow or red." Her niece added and picked up a few different shades.

"A shade of blue or purple may do the trick." Asuna looked at a bunch of others choosing which shades could potentially match her partner's skin tone.

"How about a nice green?" Yumeko grabbed one to the collection in her hands.

"I'm scared to come out now." Kazuto spoke behind the door.

"I'm not the one who needs to learn to put more colour in his side of the closet." Asuna rolled her eyes.

He opened the door to show how the itching fabric really appeared to be on his body.

"It's a good fit." Asuna commented.

"Can't say much about the price tag." Kazuto groaned.

"Try the rest of these." The woman handed the all of the chosen clothing tops.

Feeling a little overwhelmed by the amount, he only took the red and blue ones.

* * *

Waiting for Asuna to get a new pair of shoes, Kazuto and Yumeko were sitting on a bench together in front of the store.

"Oji-san, do you think it's possible to be strong both _inside and out_?"

Hearing those words being used together to form a single sentence, caused the young man to blankly look at the child's face _. Is this one of those conversations onee-sensei tells me about during work?_

"I think that's a something to talk about when you're a little older Yumemi-chan." He patted her silky tied up hair.

"Do you think I'm strong?" She swung her legs playfully and put them back to their leg over leg position, adding a bit of allure to her stocking and skirt outfit.

"I think you are."

"Do you ever think science could be...scary?" She asked.

"What do you mean?" Kazuto requested for a bit of elucidation.

"I mean that, the fact that people landed on the moon. Searching for life on Mars. Going into a whole other universe with complicated machinery every day. I read something about an illegal mind control experiment before I was born. There's a micro chip that can be installed into the brain. Now there's going to be a device that can connect a person to the internet just with the nervous system at any desired will with an augmented reality function. What's going to happen next?"

Kazuto felt stunned about all of these words coming from such a young girl. A disadvantage of knowing a kid with a higher intelligence quotient. However, he couldn't deny that what she said actually made sense, after all he was still in the pain sticking process of taking part in an 'sensational scientific breakthrough' and the other project, with Rinko by his side. _When is she going to find out about the what happened before the mind control incident?_ He couldn't think of anything else.

"Did you ever hear of that program called The Seed. Mama mentioned it when she was on the phone once, but I don't know anything about it."

Kazuto nodded and handed her a water bottle as her throat sounded dry.

"Why do you two have different full-dive equipment?"

"Oh, that's because in our teens, your aunt Suguha had an AmuSphere but I just liked my NervGear better."

"Did you ever think of getting an AmuSphere to match Asu-oba-san's?"

"No, I just like mine better."

She took a sip and exhaled. "Oji-san, which do you think is a the _stronger_ species?"

"Your going to have to be a little more clear, Yumemi-chan. I'm not very used to having these types of conversations..."

She half-smiled. "I mean which do you think is stronger? Humans, flora or fauna?"

"Hmm, that's a tough one."

She decided to give her answer before him took a deep breath. "I think fauna and flora are stronger."

"Why is that?" He tried to understand her thoughts better.

"Animals only want to protect each other and only attack in self-defense. Plants and trees get chopped down or stepped on, but they somehow grow faster after living for so long. They live and die over and over again, watching what humans have done to forests, rivers and lands. Screaming so loud that we can't hear a single cry. Humans created wars as soon as they gain power, destroying so many things, like families, relationships, lives, faith in humanity and the once beautiful land that can never grow back. I still believe people have empathy, respect and love for each other, but the world is a cruel yet beautiful place. I wish it was a little less sad and little more happy." Yumeko looked at her shoes, her long hair covering both sides of her face.

Kazuto rubbed her back as she slouched in her seat, acting a little tired.

"Did you come up with that all your own?"

Yumeko eyes sightly widened. Her voice regained it's typical innocence. "My friend came up the part about humans, but I expanded on it by making up the part about animals and plants."

Kazuto wanted to say something however the chance drifted away as he spotted his fiance with a brand name plastic shopping bag in her hand.

"I'm done for now. What were you two talking about?" Asuna smiled.

Kazuto was going to answer but heard his niece's voice instead of his own.

"Oh nothing, we were just talking what restaurant we should have lunch at. I'm really hungry."

"You are? Well, no one is staying hungry on _my_ watch and _his_ wallet." Asuna tenderly took the small hand into hers.

_I'd get hungry too, if I thought of all of that..._ Kazuto grabbed his bag of shirts.

* * *

"Hold on tight, Himeko-chan." Asuna warned as they headed near a very busy crowd near the food court.

A herd of people shoving hastily while some apologized and others grunted complaining of the lack of space.

Once the troubling trek was over with, Asuna felt like something or rather someone was pulled from her. Her hazel eyes widened in fear and shock as her niece wasn't next to her. Fear struck and shivered down her bones. The young woman's heart pounded. "K-Kirito-kun..." Her lips quivered.

"What is it?" His tone was influenced by the unsteadiness of hers.

"Himeko-chan...isn't here." Her forced, hoarse whisper was shaky.

Kazuto gulped as his eyes widened, then inhaled and exhaled. His hands were put onto her small shoulders, the onyx irises staring deep into her pair of hazel ones. "Everything's is going to be fine. You go to the lost and found and then ask some people, I'll try her cellphone. She couldn't have gone very far."

Asuna nodded, conforming to the instructions before the couple had separated.

Kazuto scrolled down his list of contacts, he had just received his niece's number that morning and the call he made to his sisterly mentor to authorize her daughter's presence at the recreational facility. Remembering that Rinko advised if anything like this happened during the excursion, not to call the little girl by her birth certificate name, like the scientist almost did once out of panic on a different shopping trip.

_Shit, how can I not get a damn signal at a time like this_. He gripped the cellular device in his fist. _I need to find at least one bar...there's too many people here_. He stared at the contact label with his niece's nickname typed into it.

* * *

A chill draws down her spine but oddly felt like surrounded by a protective shield.

The next thing she knew a warm tear runs down her face. _Am I crying?_ The symbol of emotion struck the young girl as odd as she has always remained low-key in her regular daily life.

Yumeko sniffled and wiped her eye. _At least I have my friend with me..._

With no warning, a soft, small hand ruffled her straight long hair.

"It's okay." The small voice spoke from behind her.

"Take this. It may help you." The mysterious boy said and left a string attached to a blue balloon in her hand.

Yumeko turned around to thank him for the gesture, but discovered he had left without seeing his face.

_How is this going to help me?_ Yumeko thought.

Checking the strength of her mobile's signal she saw one white bar and texted her aunt and uncle, her current location, informing them to watch out for the helium filled floater.

* * *

Kazuto hugged her tight while Asuna was giving the child a stern lecture, trying to camouflage the great relief after the fear in her heart was erased.

"Himeko-chan, where did you get that balloon from?" Her aunt asked.

"A boy gave it to me... He said it would help..."

"A _what_ gave you the balloon?" Kazuto mouth dropped.

"Well what do you know. She's only five and _already_ getting presents from boys." The strawberry blonde giggled like she was back in high school.

"I thought we had _more_ time." Kazuto sounded like he was in incredulity.

Asuna elbowed him. "Looks like boys _will_ be lining up on their doorstep _after all_." She playfully winked.

He glared with an annoyed look on his face. "She's _not_ going to be a model."

"Said the guy who calls her _Yumemi_." She poked his shoulder.

"You know very well I was _hit_ with a shinai that day." He grumbled.

"At least I'm _not_ the one who called her an _alien_."

The black haired man sighed. "You're never going to let that go are you?"

_Borborygmi._ Yumeko grabbed her stomach and pressured air into it trying to lessen the embarrassing noise. In an anime, this would be drawn as a chibi with big angle brackets replacing the characters eye, while her mouth was replaced by a single bolded line, and to top it all off, pink wavy lines coming from above the naval area. The girl let out a yawn being covered by her other hand, letting go of the balloon.

_Hungry and tired... That has to be hard for her._ Asuna handed him her personal shopping bag and warmly held the child to her chest, lifting the kindergartener from the floor, rubbing her back and laying Yumeko's head on her shoulder. _Maybe this way I won't lose her._

Kazuto began waking in front of them.

"Mama's heartbeat is my favourite music, but yours is good too." Yumeko whispered.

Asuna lightly blushed as she kissed her.

* * *

They stopped at a family-friendly restaurant.

"Have you figured out what store you want to go into next, Himeko-chan?"

"I think there was a bookstore near the clothing one."She thought aloud.

"Even when you're out all you _still_ think about are books." Kazuto chuckled. "Why not just download some on your phone? It's more convenient that way." He suggested.

Yumeko half-smiled. "Yes, but a touch screen can't replicate the feeling or the scent of an actual paper copy."

"What are your favourite genres?" Asuna asked.

"Mama reads a lot of drama, comedy, picture and romance books to me, but before that Papa snuggles and brushes my hair."

Kazuto had a small cough after hearing of the final title. As they were in a public area, his only resorted form of showing displeasure was expressed by narrowing his black eyes at the girl delightfully enjoying the crab meat stuffed crepe.

* * *

"Here we are. Why don't you go to the children's section while I go find some cookbooks?" Asuna suggested.

Scanning through the numerous titles, Yumeko found one cover with a black and white cat in with a striped white and red hat alongside a matching red bow tie, walking with it's eyes closed, while holding a book, and a smaller cat with it's eyes open _. I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!_ was the title she silently mouthed, and the opened to handful of pages, the bookworm admired the hand drawn subtle, clever, brightly coloured, whimsical designs of the characters and backgrounds with the rhythmic word play.

"Did you find one already?" Asuna's gentle voice came from behind her.

The girl turned with a smiling mouth and eyes.

* * *

By the eager demand made in the car trip back, Kazuto promised Yumeko that he will read the book to her after looking over some work he didn't finish the day before.

The girl calmly agreed as she needed to finish some of her summer homework with Asuna's assistance, before helping out the woman with the laundry and cooking dinner.

_The more you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you'll go._ That line of the book was repeated numerous times as the listener grew more and more fond of the philosophy.

"So besides reading, learning, writing and games, what other hobbies interest you?" Kazuto laid back on the living room couch.

"I like cooking, cleaning and combination puzzles. Right now, I'm learning to how to sew, crochet and knit."

"You spend a lot of time inside..."

Yumeko nodded. "I'm going to start my aikido training early next year so things will be a little different."

Kazuto half-smiled at the very mental image of the little girl going against other, possibly older children in a dojo, seemed out-of-character for her as she is well behaved and gentle like.

"What are you thinking about?"

Kazuto shook his head at aimed his attention back to her. "So did onee-sensei sign you up for it? There's no way your dad would have." He chuckled.

"Mama did, but it was my idea."

"How did you come up with it?"

"I saw a sign in a store window when Mama and I went shopping once. I guess it was a spur of the moment kind of thing."

"And your dad is okay with it?"

"At first he rejected, but that I brought up that he says that I'm stronger than a bull. I guess now I know why." She took a sip of the pink lemonade that Asuna left on the coffee table.

"Oji-san, why do you call Mama onee- _sensei_ , instead of onee- _san_ like the others?"

"That's because...at first we were just acquaintances before we started spending time together. Before I just called her sensei then she started to be more like an older sister."

"Oh, sorta like what you did with my nickname." Yumeko commented.

"In a way, yes."

"Can I ask you something else? But you have to promise to answer as honestly as you can." She extended her pinkie finger.

He wasn't going to like this.

"Promise." He wrapped his around hers.

"Do you guys only love me because I was born early?"

Kazuto blinked at the direct question. They were only teenagers in high school in that point in time. He managed to crack a smile and gave her a hug. "I think we'd love you just the same even if you weren't."

"How did I get _this_? Whenever I ask Mama or Papa, they change the subject." She traced the curved cicatrix on her foot. It stretched as she grew through the years, and showed to have been minimized as well. "I don't know all of the details, but you got that from a needle."

"I don't like it." She murmured.

"I think it looks good." He rubbed her head.

A few voiceless seconds passed by.

"Yumemi-chan, how did you get that journal?"

"Oh, I...went through Mama's purse to find her credit card to copy the number down for the hotel room but... I found that instead. Then I took when she was busy packing... I don't think she knows I did."

_She hasn't responded to last night's email..._ Kazuto sighed thinking of a way to forward the conversation.

"So what's going to happen tomorrow?" Yumeko kindly asked.

"That's a suprise." He grinned.

* * *

**I hoped you readers enjoyed the Dr. Seuss reference! Thank you very much for reading the chapter! Leave a review if you want!**


	25. Excursion

**I am SO SORRY about not updating this story on the website! I had no idea it would've taken this long for me add more to this... :(**

**This story originally on my account from fanfiction.net! I apologize for any grammatical or spelling errors that were made into the text.**

* * *

 

**Chapter 25:**

**Overnighters Part 3: Excursion**

_**Sunday, August 26th, 2030 11:45** _ _**AM** _

Kazuto was typing on his computer in the main bedroom in privacy.

Yumeko comes inside. She was helping Asuna make a special lunch after their breakfast was over.

"You two are done already?" The raven haired man asked her.

She gave a little nod, looking a little upset.

"What's the matter?" He put away the tablet-like PC.

The girl sighed. "Nothing I just got off the phone with Mama and Papa, Mama played the song on her ocarina...and I miss them again."

_That's the fifth time..._ He smirked. "You know you could have booked a cheaper room, they could have taken you along with them."

Yumeko crinkled her eyebrows. "Deluxe parents deserve a deluxe room and nothing less." Her lower lip produced a childlike sulky expression.

_Now I've done it._ Kazuto patted the mattress offered her a place to sit. "I miss my parents and your aunt Suguha sometimes too. But to make me feel better, I use a  _special_  trick."

"Trick? What kind? Is it magical?"

"When it works it feel like that way." He smiled.

"What's the trick?"

He demonstrated for her. "I close my eyes try to picture their faces in my mind and think of one thing I admire about them for five seconds, and I stop missing them for a while."

"Did you come up with that on your own?"

Kazuto shook his head left to right. "It was Asuna's, she's really something."

"I think Papa told me something like that once, but I can't remember if I did it or not." Yumeko looked around the room aimlessly. Her eyes were drawn to a dark corner with an old chair, a bit of sunlight peeking through the white curtain.

Through the ray of sunlight, a helmet of a smooth, deep blue colour with a wire stretching out of a long pad from the back. Beside it was a ring shaped electronic with a magenta eye visor surrounded by a silver backing.

"If you like them so much you should look what I have in the drawer."

"Oh, I got distracted. I really like the design for the NerveGear. I think its better than the AmuSphere."

"I think you'll like what's in the drawer too."

"What the makes drawer so special?" She asked.

Kazuto chuckled. "Open it and you'll see."

Her natural curiousity getting the best of her, the girl gently pulled the golden knob.

The drawer revealed a small dome with what looked like it had a screen like a camera, it was not other than the [Audiovisual Bidirectional Communication Probe].

"It's a communication device. It's something my mechtronics class in high school came up with. Your mother gave me some advice on it a few times."

"Was it after she helped with the M...med..."

"MediCuboid, and yes. This probe is really more like a rough copy of the product, the real one is being held at my workplace right now."

"Oji-san."

"What is it?"

"Can I...try  _it_  on?" She pointed to the old virtual reality helmet.

He paused for a moment trying not to form fists with his hands as he didn't want to worry the girl beside him. His breathing went back from heavy to average and nodded his head. He picked it up and went down on his knees. "I have to warn it's a sort of heavy. I was a little surprise to find that out the first time I wore it."

"They all have beautiful designs, but I like the helmet the best." She stopped him before the putting the console on her. "I'll be right back." She hurried out of the room and returned with her cellphone. "I want Mama to see me it in. The camera is all set." Her voice was giddy and excited.

Kazuto had no choice but to unwillingly fulfill the request of his smiling niece _. I have a feeling I'm going to to be getting a strongly worded email tonight._ The picture was taken.

She requested for her phone back and opened to the photo gallery application and kindly asked to repeat the snapshot process until the look of its overall quality satisfied her. "I'm not old enough to full-dive yet. What's it like?"

"It's...hard to explain, once you get into it's a little surreal. Then one day, it just becomes a part of your life."

"I really want to know how to do all of this someday." Yumeko lowers her head with a smile. "I want to be as smart as Mama and just as nice as Papa when I'm older."

"I think that's a pretty good wish." Kazuto smiled.

They sit on the bed again as he carefully explains to her one of the projects he had the honor of being recruited for, alongside the female scientist.

"I need to work on my timing like you need to work on your words Kirito-kun. I feel like I'm missing out on some nice conversations like yesterday." Asuna teased as she walked in the room and kissed her fiance's lips.

"Asuna, there's a little G.I.R.L. here..." He blushed.

"That's okay, Mama and Papa kiss and fight in from me sometimes. You should still enjoy it while you still have each other."

Asuna ruffled Yumeko's hair. "Don't you think it's about time to give her  _surprise_ , Kirito-kun? She  _did_ help make it after all." The strawberry blonde chuckled.

* * *

They all were in the car.

Asuna was sitting the driver's seat as Kazuto wished to enjoy the ride and nice weather, not wanting to be distracted by the traffic light and other automobiles.

After the two respective females were ready and leaving the apartment, Kazuto told his bride-to-be that he needed to check something.

The woman and child left in summer dresses and a sun hat, excluding Yumeko, due to her preference for her red bell ribbon.

Waiting until the coast was clear, Kazuto swiftly rummaged into Yumeko's packed suitcase and swipes the leather bound notebook, smoothing his fingers across the book's material over the thick hand sewn leather inserts.

After informing Rinko that the old journal is currently in her daughter's custody, the young man asked why were thick like a computerized tablet as Kazuto knew that Rinko handmade it personally to add some more sentimental value. In the response email, she belittled herself for not inspecting accurately as she became both baffled and energized with the impromptu suitcase packing to pay more attention. Further along, the message said the reasoning behind the thickened leather inserts is that within them, are flattened folded pages which kept information from the beginning day of her pregnancy and the day she had the fact disclosed to her lover.

Feeling anxious, Kazuto felt a huge relief as it appeared the slit hadn't been looked at for years. He ached to read them, however the loyalty towards his elder was difficult to calculate as a whole number, never mind a whole percentage. Her personal life is none of his business. He exhaled and ignored her invitation to read those notes himself about the first week of the scientist's the future impending motherhood. Being one of the few people who knew the kindergartener's birth certificate name was enough and hurriedly relinquished the ludicrous logic of peer through the slit wider and forcing the pages to 'casually' ending up in his possession.

He had gotten a text from his fiance asking what was keeping him from getting out of the apartment.

* * *

The drive wasn't as long as Kazuto expected, as the city traffic was lower than usual and they were met with a thread of constant green lights.

The car's tires screeched at its sudden halt. Through the windshield a field of grass and trees.

_It's been a long time since we last came_. Asuna beamed.

"Where are we?" Yumeko asked from the backseat.

"A public park." Asuna turned around.

"Why are we here?" The girl asked.

"For a  _picnic_  of course." Asuna chuckled.

"Picnic?"

Asuna nodded. "It's been planned for a month now. But when you ended up with us this weekend, we couldn't reschedule, so we brought you along for some fresh air and exercise."

"So the food we made after breakfast was  _really_  for to eat here?"

Asuna laughed. "That's right." She got out of the car and opened the back door.

"Don't mention it. Your supposed to have a good summer vacation. Childhood  _only_  lasts so long." She extended her hand to help the girl out of the vehicle.

Kazuto takes out the basket, cooler and a blanket.

Asuna held his hand until the found a comfortable spot to sit.

Yumeko decided to walk a little more.

"Hey Kirito-kun, remember when we came here in high school?"

"Yeah I drove my motorcycle. I miss that thing."

"You were a little sad after you sold it."

"It was nice and hardly gave me any problems."

Asuna persuaded him to keep a watchful eye out for her as the girl warned them she was going to the woods moments ago, though she equipped with a celluar device, he went for the sake of his fiance who was still slightly jumpy from the occurrence of the previous day's outing.

* * *

Yumeko took each step carefully, smelling the scent of the surrounding leaves, feeling the warm humidity on the pores of her skin breathing in and out. "Thank you for coming along with me friend. It's nice to get out once in a while isn't it?" The girl smiled at looked to her left, talking aloud to her invisible companion. Through a random spectator's point of view, you would just make an assumption that she is only speaking to thin air. That was a fact she knew for quite some time. "I wish the other could see you. Being unseen day by day can get lonesome doesn't it? I'm sorry if you ever got bored with me, I'm not very interesting. I don't understand why you think so."

Looking above to the sky, a web of tree branches, pouring sunlight shining through the green leaves.

Yumeko lowers her head to relieve the slight burning sensation from her eyes.

_Hoo hoo. Tu-whu._ An unperturbed, tranquil calling brought her concentration to the tree a few feet away in front of her.

_Hoo hoo._ The sound was heard again.

The girl's eyes scanned the area.

_Hoo hoo._ She looked up at a thick brown branch, standing on it was a bird of prey. It's corporeal attributes included a round head, bright yellow eyes and a black bill fitting gracefully it's white feather filled body.

Yearning to capture the animal's brilliant and outstanding majesty, the schoolgirl carefully grabbed for one of the small pockets on the front end of her dress, while trying not to blink, thinking the snowy owl will be gone as soon as her eyes open. She jerked her head back as the wind picked up. The instant change of weather condition made her pores tingle on her arms, even her feet.

Yumeko witnessed the bird's wing spanning as if it was preparing to take flight.

_Whoosh!_  An unforeseen, hard cool gust of wind traveled by.

Yumeko stuffed her red square glasses into the other pocket and covered her face with her hands as her 'friend' advised it will provide a safeguard for her face from dirt or other flying substances before the breeze blasted.

She uncovered her face and put her glasses back on.

The owl was gone, and so was the bell ribbon that was tied in her hair like a ponytail instead of the usual, where it was just on the back right side of her head.  _That was the jingle I heard._ She spun around to each tree. Finally only a few minutes of looking around close to where she first observed the animal, she noticed something red hanging caught on a branch.

Despite the objections of her 'friend' warning her of the risk of danger of the height and injury were high, however so was the level of perseverance the female had to retrieve the hair accessory. _I can reach it... I can reach it..._ The thought was repeated like a mantra. Next, she stretched her arm out enough to loosen the branch's hold.  _Got it!_ A beaming grin flourished on Yumeko's face like a flower bud in early spring time.

* * *

_Geez, for someone who spends a lot of time at home, she walks pretty fast._ Kazuto sighed still moving his feet onto the forest ground.

The black haired adult heard a shout of above.

"Oji-san, I'm up here." The voice was and odd mixture of childish fear and maturity.

Kazuto's mouth dropped open. "Yumemi-chan! How did you-! How long -!" He couldn't figure out a proper dialogue.

_Creak!_ The branch made an unexpected sound.

_I should have listened to my friend._ She shut her eyes tight.

_Snap!_ The limb was falling down, making the child come down with it.

_Thud!_ The branch crashed into the dirt.

Kazuto miraculously has the small body in his arms and pulled her away from his chest and onto the soft ground.

His back hit the trunk in the midst of the urgent rescue action, possibly leaving one or more bruises. The mad exterior softened when he saw the young one wipe her eyes, and calmly placed his hand on her tiny shoulder. "Are you okay?"

_I should have listened to my friend._ Yumeko guilty reflected. More tears came in her eyes.

Thinking it was his abrupt yelling and the fall making her cry, Kazuto sat crossed legged beside his niece, wrapping her body with his arms, cringing at the newly given pain. "Are you okay?" The adult repeated.

"It's not it." She sniveled. "It's not it."

He softly hushed in her ear. "Yumemi-chan, why did you go up there? It was dangerous." He wiped her eyes. _This hasn't been the best weekend for her._ He kissed her forehead. "What's not it?"

Yumeko looks at him crestfallen. Her mine shaft grey eyes were puffy and pink. "My ribbon." Her voice sounded frail.

"Ribbon?"

"The wind blew it away."

"What's in your hand then?"

Yumeko's fist opened, exposing a simple red ribbon slightly worn out. No trio of small silver bells in the middle. No pleasant chime.

Kazuto and Asuna knew of the forest clearing, as the area was being reconstructed for urban renewal scheduled to begin in late autumn, which is why they had decided to come here in the first place.  _They were planning to cut down that one too._ He stroked her head.

"It's gone forever." She grabbed onto the folds of his shirt.

"Let's make a deal. I'll help you find it only if you promise not to climb."

She nodded in agreement.

* * *

"Yumemi-chan, why do you love that ribbon so much?" Kazuto limped towards his left side as the spot endured the most damage when colliding with the wooden plant.

"Onii-chan made it for me. He used the ribbon Papa bought and the undented bells from my bell rattle."

"I see. He's almost done high school right?"

Yumeko nodded. "He even got a baseball scholarship from a university he's going to after graduation. Fuko-oba-san, Namie-oba-san and Mama are very proud of him."

"That's great news. I hope things will work out for him." Kazuto praised.

Yumeko stopped in her tracks while Kazuto took some more steps then turned around.

"We should stop."

Kazuto stared at her, the girl's stamina depleted in a gloomy trance. "Is that want you really want? If you're tired than you can climb on my shoulders. I'm just sore."

She declined the offer, exhausted, hungry and worried about her aunt waiting for them to get back.

* * *

Explaining the situation to Asuna wasn't as easy as they had thought.

"How could someone as  _smart_  as you  _two_  be so  _reckless, irresponsible and incompetent_ in a place like  _this_? Did you even  _consider_  what kind of trouble you could've gotten everyone else into with  _this_ little  _stunt_?" Even during her educational training of becoming a middle school teacher has she neither seen nor heard of any event similar to what had happened only earlier that day, especially when the people involved were none other than a third-year kindergartener and a university graduate.

"I'm sorry. I just thought it was my ribbon. It blew away."

Asuna paused her lecture as her hand brushed Yumeko's lowered head.

"I'm sorry. My friend told me not to go up there, but I didn't listen. If oji-san hadn't come in time... So don't get mad at him. I'm the one responsible, I take full blame,  _one hundred percent_."

_What? They talked to each other?_ Kazuto clenched his fists then released them as soon as pressure of the tight grip entered his wound.

* * *

After all of the excitement and tension, the three decided to eat lunch.

Asuna suggested that they'd eat in the car for the sake of her partner's comfort. He rejected wanting to enjoy the experience once again as much as he was able to.

Yumeko gave him a plate, fork and knife while Asuna poured his drink.

Taking a greedy bite of his sandwich he licked his lips. "Great job as usual, Asuna. " He sipped his fizzy soft drink.

" _I_  made that one." Yumeko exclaimed.

Kazuto couldn't believe his ears.  _She did this?_ Putting his plate down to the side he slowly tried to bend his back forward and winced.

"What are you doing Kirito-kun? It's going to cause more pain for later." Asuna touched his knee.

"I'm bowing down to one of the goddess' of cooking." He made a small grunt trying to lean more forward.

_Goddess?_ Asuna blushed.

He felt small hands on the front of his shoulders, looking up to his niece's displeased pouting face almost an inch away from his.

_I'm going to bow down to the one that got hurt because of me._ Yumeko bent her knees and lowered her head, and made a solemn commitment not to climb anymore high places without any formal administration.

Asuna nodded as the child's words. "As long as you learned your lesson and keep that pact."

Yumeko returned to her spot. "But I don't get it... Why was there a ribbon tied to the branch in the first place?"

The couple glanced at each other.

"You see, Himeko-chan...starting something in the spring there's going to be a new shopping mall in this area. The company is planning to prepare the ground sometime in the next month." Asuna explained.

"I see..."

"We're sorry we couldn't tell you this before. It's just that we didn't know how to." Asuna continued.

"I get it." Yumeko understood.  _But won't the earth be sad about losing apart of itself because of business expansion?_  She bit her lips. Her so-called 'wonderful imaginary friend' said it was a possibilty for that to occur. She shook her head, forcing herself out of the introspective dazing mind state. "How is you working progress for that project? Mama doesn't really give any details about it at home."

_She must mean the one that's almost done... Onee-sensei did tell her about it once or twice._ "It's going great. It should be out by the beginning of next year. At least that's the company's goal."

"Do you have a name picked out?" Asuna joined in.

Kazuto nodded. "We're working under a prototype name, but the marketing one is still being looked at."

"What is it then?" The woman asked.

Kazuto took out his phone. The electronic note application reading the project title was read aloud, [Neural Optical Aural Lingual Phonetic Vitalizer].

"That sounds easy to forget and boring." Yumeko's excitement decreased.

"That's what your mother said. She came up with the last part." Kazuto replied.

"No wonder I like that part the  _best_." Yumeko giggled.

"I came up with the first part..."

"I thought that part felt a little flat." The girl said bluntly.

"That's a little mean." Kazuto jokingly furrowed his eyebrows.

"I agree with her. The rest sounds fine, but that first word sounds like it could use a  _little_ more work."

"Why is that whenever you females say something another one has to the urge to add something?"

The woman and child share a look and direct their attention back to Kazuto.

" _Women's intuition_." They said in unison.

Kazuto let out a comedic yelp and gasp. "Where did you learn  _those_  words?" His eye's glared the little girl.

"Eh?  _What_ words?" Yumeko gave an innocent exterior alongside a hint of curiosity.

"You  _know what_ words I'm talking about." He kept this eyes fixated on the kindergartener.

Yumeko blinked. "Oh, you mean-!"

Kazuto cut her off. " _Don't_ say them again!"

"Why not?"

"Because those are  _bad_ words."

Yumeko tilted her head. "They are? But I hear Mama, Fuko-oba-san and Namie-oba-san say it sometimes, and Papa and onii-chan are fine with it."

Asuna lightly tapped her shoulder. "Those words are  _completely_ fine, you can say them whenever you like. Your uncle is overreacting." She assured the little girl.

"Don't encourage her!"

After enjoying the food and glorious weather they began to pack up the materials.

* * *

Yumeko was holding the basket as Asuna carried the other things and was also helping Kazuto, disregarding his words telling her that he's fine and shouldn't worry so much.

The girl was just walking a few steps in front of a large tree standing to the left of her. What she heard made her knees weak.

_Hoo hoo. Tu-whu._ The same call of the bird she encountered during her walk.

Yumeko dropped the basket slowly on the grassand looked up with a beaming grin lighting her face with pure merriment.

"What happened Himeko-chan?" Asuna's voice came from behind her.

Just then the snowy owl swooped down coming between the three people. It's black bill had something in it. Something that made it jingle.

The couple stood in awe and bewilderment. It walked in front of the youngest and dropped the item. It was a piece of red, glossy fabric with three small silver trinkets attached to it. She girl picked it up. "Thank you." She whispered.

The owl stretched opened up its bill, its eyes giving a top a semicircle look as they were smiling as well. It extended its feathery wing. Yumeko shook the large tip lightly, and snuck a picture on her cellphone before it flew away.

Knowing that owls can be seen as a symbol of good fortune, Kazuto gave a half-smirk.  _Onee-sensei does call Yumemi her good luck charm._

* * *

Kazuto laid in his home comfort wardrobe of a plain black shirt and black sweatpants. He was laying flat of his back, and took two painkillers with a glass of water, feeling drowsy as the medicine's side effect.

The man heard the pitter-patter of heavy feet coming towards the room.

Yumeko was holding a sheet of paper in her hands. She climbed from the foot of the bed to crawl next to the man's torso, putting the paper in front of his face. "I made this for you." It was a picture of a rainbow, a smiling face and heart with a  _Get Well Soon_ message under it. "I made the same one for Papa and he said it made him feel better and after that I laid next to him until I fell asleep. When I started snoring Papa kissed and said he loves me very, very much."

Kazuto made a tired grin, his black irises making contact with her mine shaft coloured ones. "Thanks a lot Yumemi-chan. I feel a little better now. The story helped a bit." Kazuto took another peak of the paper drawn in crayons. Though the little girl showed obvious signs of having very high intelligence her artwork skills appeared to be quite average for her young age.

"I'd figure you'd be in here." Asuna came in the bedroom with a towel. "Himeko-chan it's time for your bath now. You want to be nice and clean when your parents come to get you tonight, right?"

Yumeko came down from the furniture as slowly as possible trying disturb the in-pain and sedated male.

"Klein-san said they'll be here in a couple of hours." Asuna informed. "Their going to be so happy seeing you after these long three days." She gave her niece a warm, affectionate embrace, transferring the grade-schooler of the room to letting her groom-to-be rest a little longer.

_How long will the extra special project be taking? Having Asuna not know is almost criminal._ Kazuto closed his eyes for a brief nap.

* * *

"Check-mate, oba-san." Yumeko chimed like an ornament.

"Not fair, that's  _twice_  in a row." Asuna moaned and gave a pouted expression.

"I  _warned_  you, she's  _really_  good." Kazuto praised as a cooling pack was attached to this back while sitting on the sofa.

The apartment door had a knock.

Asuna straightened herself and answered it. "Onee-san, Klein-san how are you?" She greeted them inside.

The couple both answered in tired, lethargic tone of voices. When they asked about Kazuto's unexpected medical condition, the younger adult made up a story about his injury, saying that he slipped on a wet spot in the forest, and landed on his back on a large tree root.

Yumeko ran to her stepfather first.

Klein lovingly stroked her neck with his fingertips like a cat before picking her up. "How's my sweetheart?"

Yumeko giggled. "You've been with Mama all day you should know by now."

"I meant my  _first_  sweetheart."

"Why are you asking Mama directly?"

Klein pressed his lips on her forehead. "That's because  _you're_  my first sweetheart."

Yumeko disagreed. "It  _should_ be Mama, she's the reason why you have me."

"Good job Himeko-chan." Asuna raised her thumb.

Her mother blushed and laughed. "I'm  _alright_ with being the  _second_  one, Yuyu." She smoothed over her daughter's blow dried hair.

Klein started kissing his step-daughter's face all over, in the similar fashion he used during her infancy. To add to the enjoyment, she still remained calm and appeared to be liking the gesture. "Do you know how many I wanted to kiss  _you instead_ of  _your mother_?" He snuggled the small body.

Yumeko frowned with a mad look on her face.

The red haired adult bit his lips. "Oh right, she's the favourite parent..."  _How the hell do I get out of this one?_

"Hey, go easy on him. The poor guy  _really_ missed snuggling and brushing your hair." Rinko kindly wrapped her arms around them.

Yumeko comfortably rested her head on Klein's shoulder.  _Mama's right, if I keep mad at Papa then..._ "Mama is my favourite parent and Papa is my favourite pillow." She kissed his cheek, yawned again, closing her eyes.

Klein kissed Rinko's lips as a non-verbal 'thank you' gift for preventing him getting into an ordeal with the kindergartner.

Asuna handed over Rinko the old handmade colourful quilt.

Some words were exchanged about the very much anticipated, forthcoming get-together organized to be taking place in one week.

* * *

**Thank you very much for reading the chapter! Leave a review if you want!**


	26. Regathering

**I do not own or have any affiliations with Sword Art Online. I apologize for any spelling errors, grammatical errors or missing words that were made into the text.**

* * *

**Chapter 26: Regathering**

_**Saturday, August 31st, 2030 - Early evening** _

 

The reunion had finally came along.

The engaged couple and the married with their growing child were the first of the social gathering members to make it to the cafe without being caught in the hectic city traffic.

"Happy early birthday, Asu-sama." Yumeko wished flattering the beautiful, exquisite female.

_What? Did she just her a full thirty days before? How could she? Gotta think of something quick._ "You know it's  _too bad_ you have to go back to school on Monday, Yumemi." Kazuto playfully stuck out his tongue.

Rinko poked his forehead until he stopped.

"Sorry, onee-sensei." He groaned.

"Thank you, Mama." The kindergartener chimed.

The mother kissed her hair and face.

"Mama...please... _not here_." Yumeko shyed away.

The woman chuckled. "You don't like it?"

"There's a time and place for everything." Yumeko muttered.

Rinko tousled the child's hair.

"This wasn't an easy job to do." Yumeko complained hoping her side swept braid not to loosen.

Rinko sighed and gave up.

* * *

Sometime later Suguha came long. She didn't wear the bob-cut hairstyle anymore, and now replaced it with shoulder length hair with blunt bangs. The well endowed female looked a little taller, despite wearing a pair of black ankle strap pointed flats, which was matching her short ocean blue dress and simple black cardigan. The present young adult was currently working on becoming an instructor since earning her kendo scholarship during her high school senior year and also in her third year working towards a degree in business economics. This gave Yumeko the idea of nicknaming the female "Sensei-sama." Learning that the youngster was going to begin training in aikido in the near future, Suguha mentioned the possibility of them 'sparring' together in the future.

"Hi everybody." Rika waved from the doorway. At first glance, they almost couldn't recognize the first year graduate school student. She was divinely dressed in a mainly black sweater vest with pink and grey diamonds, over a long sleeved lilac dress shirt with tight dark blue jeans and dark brown buckled high top sneakers. Over her dark pink eyes, a cyan coloured wide squared glasses framed her round, innocent freckled face and straight bra strap brunette hair . The dark blue eyed young man next to her was in a plain navy blue sweater vest over a simple light blue tie and white shirt with black slim trousers and matching black dress shoes. His dark brunette hair was gelled giving it a slicked back look. The handsome stranger bowed in front of the group and introduced himself as Inoue Mikado.

Yumeko rushed to be near the young woman's side. "Hi, Riri-sama." She hugged her legs.

Rika smiled and herself down to her knees. pressing Yumeko's cheeks before the woman held her close to her wonderful chest. "Hi, Himeko-chan."

"Nice to meet you. What's your sweet name?" Midako smiled and stretched his hand out to the token mini-moe.

Yumeko clinged to the female engineering student like a sloth holding onto a tree branch, glaring like a jungle cat at the man she had just encountered.

Mikado took his hand back. "So you're in third year kindergarten? That sounds like fun." He laughed nervously.

"It's as fun as it get." Yumeko nodded and did not make eye contact with him, as the kind of pressure she is putting herself through began to slowly pile up. "So  _you're the one_ dating my aunt?" She narrowed her mine shaft grey eyes at him.

The man gave a coy smile and nodded at the given question.

"Do you treat her right?" Yumeko asked in a hostile tone.

Mikado strached his head. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

She glared at him. "I mean with  _genuine affection, warmth and respect_. The things  _that_   _matter_."

Everyone's eyes widen witnessing.

He patted her head. "Your  _very sharp_ for your age." He looks at his girlfriend. "It would have been nice to know about this  _interrogation_  session, Rika." He winked. "Didn't you say you she was quiet?"

Rika simply shrugged her shoulders after giving him a dumbfounded expression.

"That's  _only the beginning_." Yumeko took a folded piece of paper under from the tube sock. "There's more." She took out one from the another.

Rinko couldn't believe her eyes.

Klein couldn't be more proud.

Kazuto, Suguha, Asuna and Agil were simply enjoying the show.

"Wow...precoious  _and_ prepared." Mikado sounded a bit overwhelmed.

Rika spoke out, trying to break the ice. "So Himeko-chan, have you made any friends yet?" She stroked Yumeko's shoulders side to side, a motion she used during the child's infancy when the then secondary school girls would give her a joint massage.

The cozy, tranquilizing action made Yumeko close her eyes and answered the inevitable question in a hesitated manner. "No...I haven't..."

Mikado waved to get her attention. "Can I be your friend?"

Yumeko's voice sounded vitriolic once more. "That depends on your answers."

_I was hoping that one would work..._ Mikado skittishly cringed.

"This happening for real?" Suguha whispered to her future sister-in-law.

"I never saw this side of her either." Asuna murmured in response.

"Good luck." Kazuto spoke in a sing-song tone.

"Don't be too hard on him." Agil simpered.

"You make me  _so_  proud." Klein squeezed his step-child.

"I'm  _so sorry_ about this." Rinko bowed awkwardly and self-consciously at the newcomer.

Mikado's forehead started to moisten.

* * *

He took a seat in the back table as Yumeko chose to sit in the middle of Rika's lap.

"What did you study?" Yumeko asked the first one.

"Civil engineering. I just graduated." The interviewee replied.

Yumeko tilted her head with an innocent face. "Civil? You mean the one with buildings?"

Mikado nodded. "It also deals with designing, constructing and repairing of buildings, dams, bridges, you name it. As a matter of fact, the blueprints for a new mall were just accepted by the developers."

_That sounds really hard... Maybe I should go easy on him... No! I have to focus. If I act cute, then my aunts will think I don't care about them._ "That's quite impressive." Yumeko added.

Yumeko took a sip of water. "Do you have a job?"

"For now I have an upaid internship at my dad's firm."

The girl looked hesitant. "I'll just write down unemployed to save your pride." She started tapping on her phone's screen.

"Himeko-chan, an internship is still employment." Rika kindly argued.

The girl turned her head around. "But he's working and not getting paid. That's worst then not having a job."

The male burnette chuckled. "Your a very smart kid. It's okay if you put down unpaid, to be honest, I'm actually proud of it."

Yumeko gave an confused expression. "You are? Don't you ever ask for money?"

Mikado smirked. "I don't really need to. My dad paid for all those years of private schooling and my university studies. It was really my own idea, he disliked at first, but he was convinced later, since I still live with them. He treats me like any other intern."

"How did you two meet?"

"Your aunt applied for an internship, and she asked me where the office was and I ended up taking her. Thankfully she got in, I could use all the help I can get since I'm only in the middle of my own."

"You haven't done anything weird with my aunt, right?"

"You can ask that when your older." Rika replied instead of him.

"Are you going to buy a huge engagement ring?"

Rika eyes widened. "Himeko-chan...thats a pretty big decision." She stammered over her words and blushed.

Yumeko turned to face her. "But didn't you say once that you always wanted a six carat ring?"

Mikado coughs on his alcholic drink.

"I was foolish way back then..." The engineering student face colour restored to its normal colour.

"It's only been six months." The girl turned her attention back to the boyfriend. "How do you plan to propose?"

Mikado blushed and chuckled. "Well... I plan to buy the  _best_ ring money can buy. Then on that night, I'll take us both on the  _top of a mountain_ , get down on one knee, and  _only if she accepts_ , a whole bunch of fireworks in the shape of a  _giant_  heart will go off in the background."

The man smiled and winked as his respective girlfriend is blushing furiously.

However the interviewer was looking skeptical.  _Someone watches a lot of romantic movies._ Yumeko thought. "How many kids do you plan on having?" Her voice was deadpan.

Rika nervously patted the child's head. "W-well... P-people don't have a baby as soon as they're together, Himeko-chan... T-that's decided  _much_  later on... We've been dating for three and a half months now."

Yumeko kissed Rika's cheek and told her for the last question she needed to ask it privately. Getting off Rika's comfortable lap, and went to his side, the girl showed the final question written into her cell phone's note-taking application. The question asked that the latter would want to have a daughter of his own someday. Mikado took out his own phone and wrote that he would love that as he is the youngest of three brothers and his family most consits of males, but also wrote that it was his decision, and was sorry for that.

* * *

After slew of the questions, a tired Yumeko laid down in her seat.

"Those were some very good questions that you had for me." He praised her. Mikado turned to face the others. "Are you sure she's only five?" The intern asked in a whisper.

Kazuto snickered. "I know, right? Don't worry she's really a big blob of moe."

The bell chimed as the door opened. An optimistic, dazzling young lady wearing a light brunette chunky textured ponytail, rose pink bombshell halter dress clinging onto her medium, perky bust, with black classic faux leather pumps. The woman was in her third year of working towards her bachelor's degree in veterinarian medicine in university. "Sorry, I'm late. The train had to go under some random maintenance check that took forever." She clarified.

Yumeko scampered and started to cling to her bare smooth left leg.

"Wow, Himeko-chan. You're growing up fast." Keiko smiled warmly.

"Looks like my fifteen minutes are over." Rika playfully sighed.

" _Join the club_." Suguha laughed.

Klein came over to pick up his smallest girl. "It's great to see you again, kid." He lightly tapped her head.

"Keiko!" The women huddled around her like older sisters, and asked commonplace queries as such.

"How was your trip?" Rinko asked.

"Are you eating right?" Suguha requested.

"Did you meet someone?" Rika joined.

The young woman took a much needed step back. "One at a time." A luminescent blush grew on her face before sitting down with all the female members like the old times, after Mikado introduced himself and shook her hand.

"Talk about bad timing. You missed an  _awesome_  interrogation session." Kazuto gave her a little embrace.

"What do you mean, Kirito-san?" Keiko seemed baffled.

The others recounted the event.

"I missed all of that?!  _Stupid train_." Keiko moaned and crossed her arms.

"Well, your missing less than Shino-san." Suguha sighed.

"I can do it again when you bring your boyfriend, Keke-sama. When are you going to?"

Rinko covered her eyes in slight embarrassment.

"Oh, don't worry, that'll be before you bring  _your_  boyfriend, sweetie. Do  _you when_ that will be?" Keiko winked and pecked her cheek.

"That's classified..." Yumeko's voice was quiet.

"We agreed at 25-30." Klein called out from the bar counter.

"Didn't we agree until she was a black belt?" Rinko raised an eyebrow at her husband.

"I  _still_ stand by what I said." He nodded while clutching onto his half-full glass.

"So while we are still on this subject, how many hearts did  _you_  break so far, Himeko-chan?" Suguha teased the girl.

Overhearing the conversation, the three males at the bar counter choked on their drinks and snacks. The man behind the counter nearly dropped the glass he was shining.

Yumeko's face give a pink tinge then swallows hard. "You mean  _altogether_ or  _before_  my vacation?" She executed a false smirk.

"So anyone special _, in particular_?" Asuna giggled.

"Well...a few said that they like my hair and name..." She said in effort to forward the lie.

_It was that balloon boy, wasn't it?! We thought there was still time left!_ Kazuto bit his lips.

"Is that so? What was  _your response_?" Rika teased.

Yumeko ran her fingers up and down her hair, trying to furthur the lie. "I said... If they like my name, then might like my  _phone number_ a little better." The child grinned.

The room's temperoray absence of sound was soon interjected by the women's squealing.

The men however, froze up and jaws dropped.

In a manga, Kazuto's and Mikado's eyes would have been briefly replaced with blank white eyes with slapdashly-scribbled circular black borders surrounding them. At the same time, Klein's could be depictated as a group of wavy dark blue lines radiating from upward his head and shoulders, identical to a battle aura.

"I think it's about time someone had the talk..." Agil spoke in a sing-song tone.

"You aren't helping!" Klein and Kazuto spatted.

"This kid's a freaking genius..." Mikado stuttered.

Yumeko looks at them. "It was a joke. I didn't give give anyone my number. Honest."

Klein took a breath of untroubled solace. "Don't  _scare_  me like that." He sat next to them, putting his step-child in between the couple.

"That's my girl." Rinko swayed her daughter back and forth in her warm arms. "I think that's enough excitement for one night." She pressed her lips on the small forehead.

"I don't wanna sleep now." Yumeko pouted.

Klein began to slowly circle his fingers against the palm of her hand. "I still know your weakness." His whispered softly and planted a kiss on her cheek.

The child was asleep and had Klein's arm wrapped around her.

"There's the moe." Kazuto nudged Mikado.

"She's really incredible." The male brunette commented.

"You don't know the half of it." Agil patted his back.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Mikado sounded puzzled.

"You still haven't told him yet?" Asuna whispered to her best friend.

* * *

The same bell sound was heard when the door opened once more.

This time, a young female adult wearing a half-white half-grey handkerchief hem tunic, black skinny jeans with a pair of dark grey ankle boots. There were subtle curls at the end of short black hair. She no longer wore her oval-shaped, half-rimmed eye wear over on her pale coloured face. The woman was in her third year of university, studying for her bachelor's degree in criminal justice in order to help her desired goal of becoming a policewoman. "Hey guys." She said calmly and came inside.

"Sinonon!" Asuna couldn't hold on to her internal glee.

Kazuto face palmed himself.

The others shushed the strawberry blonde.

"Himeko-chan is sleeping." Suguha pointed.

"Good thing, I'm not in heels then." Shino tip-toed closer to almost full table. "It's hard to believe to that six months went by without seeing each other. That's way too long to be apart." Shino continued to whisper and stroked the child's hair.

Yumeko's eyes fluttered open and directed them to the recent comer. "Hello, Constable-sama."

"Good to see you again kiddo." Shino smiled coolly.

"Did we wake you?" Suguha asked.

"No, I was just dreaming a little." Yumeko snuggled into her mother.

"It's alright if you want to go back to sleep." Klein rubbed her lower back.

"Yeah, don't you remember? We're gonna kidnap you tomorrow." Keiko smiled.

"Oh, I forgot about that." Yumeko yawned.  _Why didn't my friend remind me earlier?_

"I knew she was gonna be cute, but this is just ridiculous." Mikado began to fawn over her.

"You should have met her as a baby." Agil added while wiping the top of the wooden bar counter.

"Yeah, she  _didn't_  talk back then." Kazuto jested.

The others glared at him.

"I'm guessing  _you're_  the mean uncle." Mikado chuckled.

"He did a few things to her." Asuna pulled on her fiance's ear.

"Really? Like what?" The intern asked curiously.

"Like when the day she was discharged, he made her cry." The almost bride started to reminisce about the past memories.

"But is was her very first one." Suguha said in her cousin's defense.

"There was this one time he drew on her face with a black marker." Asuna continued adding pressure in her fingers.

"A-Asuna, you  _still_  have my ear!" The groom-to-be pleaded for her to release it.

"Actually, it was her first Halloween and she was dressed as a kitten. The costume was a lighter shade then her hair and eyes." Keiko contributed her insight.

"So what didn't Rika tell me about earlier?" Mikado asked.

"Uh...y-you see...Himeko-chan was..." His girlfriend spoke with great difficulty.

"She was born very early." Rinko finished the statement for her.

"I see." Mikado glanced at the sleeping girl. "Was she very ill?" He uncomfortably asked.

Rinko simply nodded. "She had PDA and ROP procedures done, apnea spells and blood transfusions. There's a scar on her left foot."

"I'm sorry to hear about that. It must have been very hard." Mikado commented.

"It's my fault. I should have told you before." Rika apologized.

"It's alright. Talking about it is easier since she knows about it now." Rinko smoothed out her daughter's open braid.

Kazuto's voice was heard from the back. "I only did those things to make her smile or laugh. It's not my fault she ended up crying."

"I don't think she found that old maze game funny." The giant bartender stated.

"Who's side are you on?" Kazuto called out.

"Which ever side is funnier." Agil grinned.

"Traitor." Kazuto hoarsely groaned.

* * *

The rest of the night went on pleasantly as a day of fun was going to begin before the next high noon.

* * *

**Thank you for reading the chapter. Leave a review if you want. :)**


	27. Meridianus

**I do not own have any associations with Sword Art Online. I apologize for any missing words, spelling errors and grammatical errors that were made into the text.**

*****This is directly from my account on Fanfiction.net.**

*****Any comments are greatly welcomed as well as anonymous ones.**

* * *

 

**Chapter 27: Meridianus  
**

 

A day of fun was going to begin shortly.

"I know your upset but let's try to have lots of fun today. Alright, honey?" Rinko dapped some sunscreen on her daughter's arms and face.

"He promised." The girl muttered underneath her breath. Yumeko rarely smiled when the other adults weren't around.

Rinko sighed. "He promised to make it up for it. Just think what that's going to be like." She tried to cheer up her only child.

"Fine I will." Yumeko rolled her eyes.

"That's the spirit." The mother raised her thumb in approval.

They were both standing near the amusement park's entry way. The girl wasn't wearing her cherished bell ribbon to reduce the chance of getting it lost in such a wide public space, so her tied her hair with a regular red hairband.

"He could have gone tomorrow." She complained.

Her mother agreed and placed her hand on the girl's scrawny shoulder. "I know but they were short on staff. He had no choice."

"Onee-san, Himeko-chan, look over here!" A myriad of female voices called from some feet behind the mother/daughter duo.

"Sorry we're kind of late." Suguha apologized.

_They all still look like models._ Yumeko observed their outfits.

"Don't worry about that now. At least you made it." Rinko replied.

"We're gonna have some fun today. Right Yumeko-chan?" Mikado smiled at her.

The kindergartner only gave silent nod of the head in response. After the conducted interview, she didn't entirely reflect on her feelings towards him yet.

"It was nice Inoue-kun to ask if he could tag along with us. Isn't that right, Yuyu?" Rinko patted her head.

"It was." Yumeko lowered her head.

Rinko apologized to the group and explained that the child's being upset is due to her husband's sudden and urgent attendence at his workplace.

"It'll be fine Himeko-chan, you still have us don't you?" Keiko crouched down to the girl's eye level. The future vet pinched her face. "Your skin is  _still_  feels soft." She kissed them both.

Yumeko hugged in response.

"We should get in line now for the tickets and maps." Shino suggested.

* * *

The group huddled as they entered the giant fairground excitingly discussing what to go on first like a bunch of middle school children.

"Ferris wheel." Asuna suggested.

"Haunted house." Suguha said.

"Roller coaster." Keiko notioned.

"Teacups." Rika spoke.

"Bumper cars." Shino desired.

"Carosel." Mikado offered.

"What do you think Yuyu?" Rinko held Yumeko close to her leg.

"I was thinking the monorail."

"That's a good idea and wherever it stops we can all start from there." The scientist praised.

_I hope it's near the haunted house._ Suguha happily clasped her hand together. "Let's get started then." She cheered.

* * *

They were either looking out of a window or talking and listening to each other.

"Good thing you were here Yumeko-chan. We could have spent the whole day arguing about what to go on first." Mikado laughed.

"I don't approve of unnecessary violence and they can get  _pretty_  mad." Her deadpan voice reemerged.

"So you're going to begin your aikido training next year? That's sound like hard work, but you seem like a tough person. Are you still a little upset?"

She nodded.

"I know what that feels like, my parent's worked a lot, but my experience was a little different than yours since I grew up with brothers."

Yumeko crinkled her eyebrows.

_That wasn't the right thing to say..._ Mikado bit his lips.

Rika came up with something to ease the tension and to help forward the present conversation. She gently rubbed the girl's small shoulders, bring back some nostalgic feelings from when she was an infant. "Autumn is coming really soon. The trees will look extra pretty when photosynthesis happens. Do you know what that is Himeko-chan?" The graduate student gave a smile in help give both of the recipient some comfort.

"It's when the leaves change colour, right?"

"That's right. Good job." Rika raised her thumb in approval.

"You're as sharp as whip." Mikado smiled.

A grinning Yumeko leans closer to the armrest and stretched her legs, yawning.

"Someone's sleepy for a tough girl." The woman patted her head.

"I didn't sleep very good last night. I was too excited." Yumeko leaned in to press her mouth on her cheek.

The brainy brunette put the child on her lap.

"If your tired, I could get that quilt from your mom." The observing male offered.

"No, thank you." Yumeko groaned and holding onto Rika who got up to give the kindergartner to her older sister figure.

That very moment had brought the respective group an irreplaceable feeling of recollection in the younger female's hearts and minds.

Suguha made a witty comment of how heavy their honorary niece may have gotten.

_Maybe she'll feel a little better after._ Rinko sighed and watched the pleasant amusing scenery from the windows.

* * *

The group had gotten off the Ferris wheel.

"Inoue-kun, are you sure your alright?" Rinko worried about the young man using was using his girlfriend as a medical crutch to help balance him.

"I'll be fine..." He slurred his words and took a seat on a nearby bench.

"Why didn't you tell us you were afraid of heights?" Rika held onto his weakish clammy hand.

"I thought I'd be okay." Mikado groaned. Why the hell did I do this? He tried to catch a grip on her hand.

"Your obviously not." Rika scolded.

"I'm just a little dizzy." His voice was moderately unsteady and rested his head on her shoulder.

Not exactly a picture of young romance.

Rika passes him a water bottle and combed his dark brown hair slowly with her fingers.

His breathing was slow and deep.

"It was a miracle that you made it through the whole ride. We're up there for a long time." Asuna commented remembering that she, Suguha and the couple were on the same cart as Keiko, Rinko, Shino and Yumeko shared another one.

"I'll stay here and the rest of you can go to haunted house." Rika rubbed her boyfriend's back.

"Are you sure?" Keiko asked.

Rika nodded. "I'm not much in the mood anyway."

"After that we'll be having lunch." Shino informed.

"Well meet you there." Rika replied.

"I'll call later to tell you where we are." Asuna told her best friend and waved behind as the group moved on forward.

* * *

"Oh, you guys should have seen it. It was amazing." Keiko laughed. "Himeko-chan didn't get scared one bit." She patted the girl's hair.

"I don't know why I didn't." Yumeko said back.

"I'm not blaming you, but to be honest, getting scared is half the fun." The light brunette gave a friendly smile.

The girl understandably nodded.

Asuna was talking to her fiance who ended up going to work instead of spending the day with her and their friends, much to her dismay.

After going over the wedding details making the bride-to-be blush like no end. The women persuaded the kindergartner into eating more food, even from their own lunches.

When Yumeko asked the reason behind it, Suguha clarified that since she is going to start her aikido training early next year, her body should have little difficulty absorbing extra nutrients and get plenty of sleep so it wouldn't feel overworked or stressed.

Yumeko was reluctant deciding if she should eat her own full meal or just half of it. Her incorporeal friend advised via clairvoyance to only take a small spoonful from each person so her body could get used to the idea of a growing appetite and a faster metabolism as soon as her martial arts training begins in her near future.

"Are you feeling better, Inoue-kun?" Rinko asked him.

Mikado nodded. "Eating is helping a little, Koujiro-san."

Rinko smirked. "You can me onee-san like they do."

The male agreed to call her by the preferred title. "So Rika told me that you're a scientist. What do you study?"

"Electrical engineering."

"That sounds fascinating." Mikado sounded impressive.

She thanked him and turned her attention over to her daughter who was looking at an old photograph. Yumeko handed it over to her when the mother asked for it.

The women grinned fondly at the memory.

"What's that onee-san?" Shino looked curious.

Without saying a word, Rinko showed it to her. It was a picture of Yumeko an adjusted newborn in simple grey kitten costume with whiskers and a nose drawn on her face by a black marker.

"Oh I remember that." Keiko stared in awe.

"When was that?" Yumeko tilted her head.

"Your first Halloween." Rinko answered. "I was having trouble trying to come up with a costume for you so when I asked Keiko, Suguha, Asuna and Rika, they all wanted you to be dressed as a grey kitten."

"Why a grey one?"

"It was because of your hair and eye colour, but costume was much lighter." Asuna explained.

"And..." Rinko said as if she was inviting the former female high schoolers to finish her statement.

"We knew you world make one of the most beautiful kittens in world history." They all chimed expect Shino.

"Why did ask Constable-sama?" The girl wondered.

Shino gave a relaxed smile. "I didn't met them yet, but it's a nice story."

"I'd like to hear that. What about, Yumeko-chan?" Mikado gave her a warm grin.

The girl nodded slightly up and down.

Rinko took a sip of water and cleared her throat before narrating.

* * *

_***Flashback starts*** _

_**Friday, October 31st, 2025 | 6:00 PM** _

"Oh, you look so sweet." Rinko hovered over the bassinet. "The others won't be able to keep their eyes off of you." She rocked the cradle gently and and traced the shape of a heart on her daughter's face.

At that time, Yumeko's actual age was 5 months and 29 days, while her adjusted age was only 2 months and 23 days.

Rinko fixed her posture from a bending to a standing position and straighten out her French maid costume.

"It's  _no wonder_ I'm broke. You  _both_  are costing me fortunes." Klein wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Didn't you say money isn't an object when it comes to her?" She gives him a seductive wink.

"That was before I literally turned into my costume."

"I don't think wearing cardboard sign that says  _broke guy_ would count as a costume, I guess that's what you get for having  _two_  girls in your life."

"Correction. My two incredible girls." He leans in forward and presses her lips onto hers.

Unknown to them, the unlocked front door was widened all the way without a screech, showing three familiar people standing in the open doorway. Fuko was dressed as a fair maiden, Namie was a witch and Takato was dressed up a vampire.

"Looks like the party already got started." The 13-year-old blonde male witnessed the adults locking lips.

Fuko covered his eyes while Namie covered his mouth.

Rinko opened her eyes and stopped, looking at her best friends and honorary nephew. She stood behind her boyfriend while her face was bright red in colour. "Y-you guys are here early..." She hid behind his shoulder.

"You sounded exhausted on the phone this morning, so we'd thought it would be for the best if we came early to help out." The blue haired doctor explained.

"You guys are the best. I love you." Rinko hugged the other female adults.

They sat down on the couch.

"How were your days?" The French maid cosplayer asked.

Fuko sighed. "Brutal. I had to turn down  _five_  proposals and they were  _all_ from the senior citizens ward." She rolled her eyes and laid back in her seat.

"You think that's rough? The elevator near my office broke down, so I had to take the one all the way in the next wing, just to grab coffee in three inch heels. After that it got busy, so I had to climb down the stairs to get to my car." Namie took a slightly frustrated breathe.

"Though our stories are a little weak compared to having a colicky baby screaming for hours." Fuko sympathized with the adjusting mother.

"How long has she been sleeping for?" The obstetrician asked.

"Almost two hours." Rinko yawned and wheeled the bassinet in front of the striking women, followed by the middle schooler.

"Her costume was the kids' ideas, wasn't it?" Namie stroked the false fur coating.

"I went in ALO a couple of weeks ago to celebrate one of their birthdays. When I brought up that I had no idea for the baby's costume yet, the girls suddenly said that she should be a kitten, because she is just as sweet and beautiful as one." Rinko explained.

"They're right about that." The nurse smoothed her slender fingertips over the pudgy face.

"She's been gaining a good amount of weight." The doctor noticed.

"She really is an easy baby, but the colic tells a  _whole_  different story." Rinko began preparing a milk bottle.

A high pitched wail came from the living room. "Sometimes I think its because just to catch up with all the days she couldn't cry." The mother sat back down.

When Namie gave her daughter back to her, Takato asked if he could feed his honorary cousin instead, just to give the scientist a little break, which the latter gladly accepted.

"How long does she go on for?" Namie asked.

"Well, before when it was mild, it last 4-6 hours, but since it got worse its been 6-9 hours." Rinko sniveled. "It's been so hard for her, and she hardly calms down." She sniffled.

"Oh, Koko." The doctor friend gave her a one-sided hug.

Fuko placed a pacifier into the mother's mouth and the nurse rested her head on her shoulder. "There's always darkness before the dawn."

Rinko out the item out of her mouth. "I know I'm up for both." She wiped her eyes.

The only males in the apartment glanced at each other confused.

"Kid's got a good appetite." Takato commented watching Klein burp her.

"I know its hard she'll grow out of it as soon as she's three months adjusted." Namie comforted the strained woman.

"She's right, think of this as the last Friday you'll ever have to deal with it." Fuko rubbed her hand on her shoulder a bit.

Rinko took a deep slow inhale and exhale as mind was trying to absorb the words of advice.

"Did you take her for her check up?" The blue haired doctor asked.

Rinko nodded. "She's doing alright."

Klein laid Yumeko's cheek onto his own, lightly shushing and swaying to calm the whining originating from the costume wearing infant.

"Hm, and to think had no idea to how to swaddle a sack of baking flour three months ago." The youthful nurse chuckled.

"It wouldn't have taking so long if you'd stop hitting me with that magazine roll." Klein muttered.

Namie and Rinko narrowed her eyes at her.

"What? It was an old issue. I had to do something being throwing it away."

Rinko thumped her index finger on the green haired single mother's head and turned back to the doctor. "The best part was how long she slept for during the drive back. I actually got a chance to cook and clean." The mother happily sighed.

"She was really good at the park last week when you took us out." Takato repeatedly kissed Yumeko's cheek and put her back in the bassinet.

"I hope there weren't any girls at this park." Fuko placed her hands on her waist.

"They...pushed me out of the way to get a better view." Takato slugged his shoulders.

"Aw, it's okay. I think you're still pretty cute." Klein patted his back and pulled on his face.

There was a knock on the door.

A tall man wearing the attire of a medieval knight and said the traditional holiday greeting before take first step inside.

"Today must have been  _quite_  an experience." Klein smirked.

"I made sure my ring was showing so I wouldn't get any proposals." Agil chuckled. "How's the kid doing?" The cafe owner asked.

"She's alright, the colic should be gone by next week." Klein replied.

Agil leisurely sauntered went up to the pink cradle. "Aren't you looking nice tonight, Fuzzball?" He smoothed his hand from her head to forehead.

He kindly took off the paw mittens on her hands and stroked the back of them with his index finger and applied pressure to the palms with his thumbs.

Yumeko seized both the thumbs in a firm grip with her miniature hands and squealed in delight.

Agil raised an eyebrow. "Strong grip, you're pretty tough, Fuzzball." The baby's primitive reflex made the adult male titter.

He nicely put back the mittens on her hands and removes her kitten hat with a gentle ease, exposing the mine shaft grey hair that was hidden underneath it.

With casual parental consent, the man lightly bounced the adjusted 11-week-old on his knee while giving great support and benevolence towards her head and neck muscles.

Yumeko makes soft noises in his right ear and drools as her head was cautiously laid on his shoulder and wipes it off with a soft tissue, commenting how it isn't the first time he had to do something like that. Then slowly brushes the back of her head with his thumb, nicely enjoying the of caressing the young one's soft hair. After that, he decided to give the tot a big-hearted hug and a soft-hearted kiss on her cheek and forehead, giving an inevitable, fuzzy warmth inside.

Yumeko was laying on her stomach with an ivory coloured cotton thermal blanket with light blue, ruffled sating trimmings.

Takato was paying solicitous yet affectionate attention over the right side of the small body.

The middle-schooler waved the bell rattle close to her ear.

A few minutes later, he laid on his own stomach on the left side, wrapping his arm around her back. Realizing that his blonde, fringed hair was blocking most of his sight, the 13-year-old chose to get off his stomach and lay on his side instead. Takato presses his puckered on his hand gently placed it right under the tot's visible eye. He cautiously moves closer repeating the previous action, but placed his hand on her left arm and a third, final time only he glided it over her head.

Then, he moved up front of her face, to kiss and caress both of her curled up hands in a graceful motion. His brown eyes cast a thoughtful, tender affection while looking into hers. Takato carefully cupped both his hand on her chubby face and rubbed his nose across her forehead and against her own.

"Your the best cousin in the whole world, Yuriko." The middle-schooler whispered in a hush tone as he laid the child on her back.

When the boy sat up to take a deep breathe and relieve some numbness he felt a small and rather tight hat being put on his head and a pair of loving arms wrapping around his torso and a peck on his face.

"Your the best son in the world." Fuko's words were wrapped in a glimmer of parental pride and maternal devotion.

"And lets not forget your also a great nephew." Namie patted his back.

The infant began to squeal delightfully, as if she was focusing on something she recognized.

The green haired nurse and blue haired doctor briefly exchange glances with each other and turn their smiling faces to the uncostumed figure.

"Don't worry, we didn't forget about you honey." Fuko slid her fingers down Yumeko's legs.

"Of course not, your even  _better_  than he'll ever be." Namie blew a raspberry on the plump face.

They had gotten up and left her laying her back on top of the blanket half-folded on the floor to give her some alone time to prevent over simulation as Yumeko appeared to be in a blissful resting process.

Some minutes after, shrill whining completely altered the tranquil, soft, cozy pleasantness, that had enveloped the entire living accommodation.

The domestic couple nearly jumped out of their seats with concerned looks on their faces, but were reassured by Namie that things are fine and they should relax.

Without any hurry, Fuko sat on her knees and in a motherly fashion began to stoke Yumeko's dark coloured hair for a few seconds as the she placed her pinky finger on for the infant to suck on, before swaddling her in the off-white coloured blanket with the ruffled blue trim, which was used during her stomach exercise and to sleep on. The woman stood up rocking the silent bundle settled in her arms.

With the doctor's assistance, Yumeko was re-costumed in the dark grey costume.

They both giggled while they covered the hair with the dark grey crocheted cat ear hat and covered her hands and feet with artificial paws.

The high schoolers came along an hour later.

Kazuto was dressed as a detective.

Suguha was a warrior.

Asuna's costume was a fairy princess.

Rika was a wizard.

Keiko was a dragon and also attached a pair of dragon wings on her cat, Pina. "Himeko-chan looks just as fuzzy as Pina." The cat lover adored.

"Himeko-chan gets even more gorgeous everytime we see her." Rika awed as her knuckle brushed her nominal niece's face.

The infant responded by letting out a smile and a moment of hearty laughter.

"She has such as wonderful smile." Asuna grinned.

"Her laugh is magical." Suguha praised.

"That must be a nice change compared to all of that crying, right onee-sensei?" Kazuto spoke to the mother.

"It sure is." Rinko shifted her one true love in her arms.

"So what you think, Yui-chan?" Asuna asked the AI being displayed on her cellphone screen.

"My baby looks so cute." Yui chimed.

Her in-game parents couldn't recall when or why the virtual life form started addressing their niece as such, but were happy about Yui enjoying all of the pictures that Kazuto had uploaded into his online gaming account for her.

"Pina like her too." Keiko giggled as her beloved pet on her shoulder.

"How much does she weight now, onee-san?" Asuna asked.

"I'd say about 9-10 pounds at most." The scientist clarified.

"Oh, what I relief she's catching up." Asuna added.

"Hard to believe we don't need to treat her like a newborn after next week. She's growing up fast with her adjusted age." Rika waved her hand some inches from Yumeko's face.

"It's going to be a lot of hard work for her." Keiko held on to Yumeko's paw with her thumb and forefinger, giving it a little shake.

"What do you mean?" Kazuto sounded wondrous.

His girlfriend rolled her eyes in annoyance. "You really can't be this clueless Kirito-kun." She criticized. "Her next set of milestones are going to be very different now, and she needs to much more support."

"She'll look so adorable walking and talking." Suguha fawned aloud.

"But before that has to learn to roll over and crawl." Rika patted her junior's shoulder.

A whimper came from Yumeko's mouth as the tot was resting on her mother's shoulder.

"She's already sounds stressed." Rinko circled her little loved one's back.

When the it turned into wailing, the scientist's finger carefully wiped off the tears off, laying her in the cradle with the pacifier in her mouth.

The group observed the act in quiet awe.

"That was incredible, onee-san." Rika complimented.

"It's just instinct." Rinko ruffled her dark brunette hair.

"She fell asleep in an instant." Keiko's voice was soft.

"That's like something Papa would do." Yui giggled through Asuna's cell phone speaker.

Her statement made Kazuto sightly blush.

The party went on as any other would have.

Taking advantage of the time granted, Kazuto took off the cap of a non-toxic water based black marker he bought while out shopping with his younger cousin who had no idea of this secret purchase.  _It would be great if Yumemi-chan stayed asleep during this._ The high schooler drew on and coloured a little up-side down triangle on her nose and a set of three whiskers on both sides of her face.  _I was right it does make her costume better._

After taking a snapshot with his cell phone camera he turned around only to see his sisterly mentor who was raising an eyebrow at him.

"How are  _you_  enjoying yourself this evening, Kirigaya-kun?" The woman in the alluring French maid outfit questioned.

"I'm doing fine, onee-sensei. Why do you ask?" He cringed slightly.

Rinko placed her hands on her hips. "Why are you standing here instead of with your friends, and what are you holding behind your back?"

As there was no point in hiding it any longer, Kazuto sighed and showed the marker and picture.

The mother made the connections and pushed him aside. She looks inside the cradle and her body starts shaking.

"Onee-sensei, are you...okay?" The pseudo-detective asked hoping she wasn't angry.

Rinko's body went back to normal and turn to face him. Her eyes looked teary and her mouth of covered by her hand regaining her usual demeanor.

_Thank goodness she was only laughing._ Kazuto exhaled in relief.

"What happened onee-san? Your face looks a little red." Rika spoke up as the group of girl came closer.

"Look at her." Their nominal elder sister whispered.

A light collective gasp originated from the female bunch who then glared sharply at the boy in the detective's uniform.

Asuna pulled on his left right ear while Suguha commented that she'll never leave him while they shop together again.

Rinko put on a pair of black cat ears and paws. It was the same pair Kazuto had once wore in the hospital as the punishment for failing to complete all of his homework.

The scientist then took upon the honor of drawing the nose and whiskers on his effeminate face. "Don't you look just adorable." She murmured.

"You don't have to say it like that..." Kazuto mumbled under his breathe.

Klein was standing next to the bassinet with a damp cloth and wiped of the ink from Yumeko's face.

The fussiness was quieted down while she recieved a relaxing back massage.

Yumeko purred as she nuzzled on his chest putting back into a period of slumber.

_***Flashback ends*** _

* * *

"That was quite charming." Mikado held the picture. "I feel a little better."

"Would you like to see some more?" Rinko held a small stack in the hands.

"No." It came from an oddly stern sounding voice of her daughter sitting next to her.

The rest excluding the couple, were sitting the car next to them.

"What was that?" Rinko questioned in disbelief.

"I said no." Yumeko gruffed and tried to yank on the pictures.

Rinko resisted, giving additional pressure to her fingertips so they wouldn't potentially fall out of the open car windows and doors.

Yumeko pulled harder, the pictures slipped out of her hands.

The couple hurriedly collected them with others and fortunately there was no wind to blow them away.

In the heat of moment, Rinko's hand lifted and slowly collided with Yumeko's cheek, leaving a red mark.

The girl sniveled, taking off her red squared glasses and wiped her forming tears.

Rinko covered her mouth. "Yuyu...I...I-" She couldn't former a proper sentence.

A bulky drop was heard when as the girl bolted out of the car, in an unstoppable motion.

Rinko's eyes peered down to the car mat and widened when she noticed a slim electronic gadget with black blank screen. She picked it up and smoothed her slender fingers across the light blue covering. Panic struck her heart like lightning hitting a tree, her hands went numb and the object fell onto her lap. A streaming tear followed.

The device was her daughter's cell phone.

* * *

_Where exactly am I?_ Yumeko looked around the amusement park. The last thing she recalled was the slap and randomly stopped in a standing position.  _At least my friend is with me like always..._

Her so-called friend told her that what she had done was wrong and she should apologize to her mother, as she loves her more than anything else in the world.

Yumeko agreed rubbing her fingers on the heart shaped pendant, concentrating hard on it, she could already hear the recorded words without pressing the centered emerald button.

An unknown amount of time passed.

All of a sudden, she felt a hand smoothly brushed the top of her tied-up hair and heard a familiar voice.

"I'm sorry I don't have a balloon this time." That mysterious boy voiced.

Recognizing the it was indeed the same one she heard at the mall that day, Yumeko immediately turned around to see what the boy looked like and to thank him for the gesture, but much to her disappointment, missed the opportunity, left to wonder why he did what he did that day.

In the same moment, Yumeko was wrapped around a pair of warm arms and one-of-a-kind scent.

The kindergartner atoned for her discourtesy.

Rinko apologized by saying she shouldn't have struck her 'deluxe daughter' and also should be temporarily demoted from her deluxe parent status. The girl disagreed.

Rinko called off the search and notified them they were located.

* * *

After going on the bumper cars that Shino requested and the roller coaster that Keiko wanted to go on, the group decided to take a walk.

Mikado and Rika were holding hands with their fingers intertwined.

Rika stopped, looking excited about something.

When her boyfriend asked what happened, she pointed to a nearby game booth with plush toys hanging.

One of them was a four legged fox-like creature covered in primarily in pale cream-coloured fur with pinkish feet, ears and tail. There was a pinkish bow with blue tips on the left ear and the same around its neck, which was adorned with a couple of feelers.

"I like that one." Yumeko pointed at another plushie.

It was a four legged tiger-wolf like creature with an orange pelt marked by asymmetrical, black stripes alongside diamond-shaped ears with beige insides, black eyes and nose and two fangs extending from its upper jaw. The head, muzzle and chest were covered in beige shabby fur clusters. The paws had three toes and a pinkish pad and the oversized beige tail was bent in the middle.

"Do you want any help getting it?" Mikado crouched down next to her.

Yumeko declined. "I want to win it all by myself." She puffed her chest with pride.

"Are you sure about that Himeko-chan? These games can get difficult." Shino laid her hand on the scrawny shoulder.

"There's nothing wrong with getting help from others." Rika patted her head.

"I want to get it myself." Yumeko said calmly after her friend told her that was impolite to sound boastful and should remain humble.

"Alright, but if you need back-up we're here." Suguha encouraged.

The toys were on display at a game booth where the player must knock over a trio of milk bottles with balls.

Mikado went up to play first. The first throw knocked over one easily. The second one missed. When the time came to throw the final ball, it only knocked down one.

Rika tried to cheer him up by saying her could buy her preferred plushie online while they both sat on a bench nearby the booth.

Yumeko's turn came along. She threw the first ball with almost bionic strength and knocked two to the ground in a single shot. With the second try, the bottle swung back and forth until it fell on the ground.

When asked which prize she wanted, Yumeko pointed to the fantasy toy resembling a fox and handed it over to her titular aunt.

In return for the deed, Rika thanked her by giving a kiss and gentle squeeze.

"Thanks for making her happy, Yumeko-chan. You're a very thoughtful, kind and pretty little girl." Mikado patted her head.

Yumeko looked at her shoes and apologized for attitude towards him, saying that she isn't very good with people.

"So you can be friends after all." The engineering intern whispered in her ear.

"I don't believe in double relationships." She whispered back _. I have to end up missing another person, right Friend?_ She telepathically communicated.

* * *

The group then went on to go to the carousel and the teacup ride.

As an act of gratitude towards the her action earlier, the couple went into a store and bought a smaller, puppy version of the tiger-wolf hybrid doll Yumeko gave up. It has bright orange fur with black stripes. Its abdomen, tail and fluff on top of its head were a creamy colour.

Rika passed it onto Rinko who was carrying the asleep child holding in her loving, devoted, arms as Yumeko snuggled against her shoulder.

The child had fallen asleep after getting a joint massage from the younger women in the car, reliving a a similar nostalgic feeling nearly like during her infancy. Expect this time she was told to fun at school and try to make friends of her very own.

Nevertheless, she concurred only for the sake of it.

Summer break ended and school was back in section apace with the inescapable morning sunrise.

So was her inexorable solitariness.

* * *

**Thank you for reading this chapter! I didn't expect it to get THIS long [especially the flashback!]... Leave a review if you'd like!**


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